Kunoichi Files
by Marquise de Nile
Summary: Two best friends, Ino and Sakura, explore their feminine side by the way of sensual encounters with various males. Done: Sai, Shikamaru, Chouji, Gaara, Kankuro. Romance/Friendship/Humor, long chapters. Warning for Lemons.
1. Artistic Beginnings

**Warning: adult content, don't read if you're not 18+ and/or mature enough to handle it.**

Pairings: Ino/Sai, Sakura/Sai

Disclaimer: "Naruto" belongs to Kishimoto.

AN: It's my first lemon. English isn't my first language. Please review!

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**Kunoichi Files**

**1. Artistic Beginnings**

Ding dong!

The bell rang but the artist didn't let his concentration waver as his brush stroked across the canvas. He hoped that the visitor would think him not home and go away, however it was not the case as the person resorted to knocking on his door, becoming more insistent with every passing second.

"Sai, I know you're home! It's me, Sakura!"

Sai sighed and put away the brush. He couldn't afford to ignore his volatile teammate, otherwise he would be in for a sound beating. He opened the door.

"What is it, Hag?" he asked, smiling pleasantly, though it was visibly fake.

Sakura didn't wait for invitation, she pushed past him to enter the apartment. Sai was surprised she had a company – the blond girl he's met the other day. Yamanaka Ino, he remembered the name.

Both of the kunoichis made their way to his room. He guessed they weren't going anywhere for a while, so he closed the front door and padded back there. Sakura sat on a chair, fiddling with her skirt, while Ino was inspecting his unfinished painting.

"Hey, sorry for barging in like that and interrupting you. It looks great," she indicated the canvas. "What is it?"

"An abstract," he replied, acknowledging her apology with a nod.

"So, Sai-kun, Sakura and I were wondering..." the blonde began. He looked at her curiously. "Have you ever been... intimate with someone?"

"Are you asking if I am a cherry boy?" Sai seeked confirmation in his usual, blunt manner.

"Umm... yes," Ino reddened.

"Then the answer is yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

The girls shared a look carrying unknown significance to puzzled Sai.

"So would you like to do it... with us?" she propositioned, more timid than she ever was.

Sai looked at the kunoichis. Ino was wringing her hands bashfully, anticipating his answer with badly concealed hope. Sakura stopped hiding her face behind the curtain of hair, free of the headband pulling them back. A heavy blush was adorning her cheeks. Sai thought for a moment.

"You want a threesome with me?"

"NO!" the girls protested loudly.

"But you both want to have sex with me and you both came here together," Sai reasoned his assumption.

"Sai, no, just no," Sakura told him in a tone which brook no argument. "We're not going to do this with you both at the same time, got it?"

Sai nodded.

"So, do you want to or what?" Ino asked impatiently.

"I suppose I do. But I don't know if I'll be any good at it, since I've got no experience," the artist answered thoughtfully.

"I-it's fine! We don't have any too!" Ino said hurriedly.

"Is there any reason you wanted to do it?" he asked, noticing her nervousness.

"W-well..." Ino faltered, then turned to the silent pinkette. "Sakura, say something!"

"I just can't believe that we're actually going through with this," Sakura moaned.

"You can always back off. There's nothing wrong in being scared," Sai said sagely, which meant he was repeating something he read in one of his horrible self-help books. His words, however, had the opposite effect on Sakura. She bristled and stood up.

"I'm not scared! Let's do it!" she ground out and approached Sai, then grabbed him by the back of his neck forcefully and pressed a firm, aggressive kiss on his lips. Sai was at a loss what to do in this kind of situation so he just followed Sakura's lead. When their lips parted, he took a deep breathe.

"God, was that your first kiss, Sakura?!" Ino threw her hands in the air. "No wonder you don't have a boyfriend, you suck!"

"Like you're so much better, pig," Sakura replied, irritated.

"Of course I am! Watch and learn, forehead!"

Ino stepped up to Sai without hesitation and pressed her body to him closely, letting him feel her curves as she initiated a French kiss. Sai was cautious at first, not sure about their tongues touching like that but soon he got into it, reciprocating Ino's skillful kissing with much enthusiasm. After a long while, they broke apart breathless. Ino threw a smug smirk in Sakura's direction and chortled seeing the gaping expression on her beet red face.

"Wha... Ino... wow... When did you learn to kiss like that?" she asked spluttering.

"It's all practice, dear," the blonde explained haughtily. "Sai, you show her how it's done." When he shot her an uncertain look, she just shooed him "Go, make me proud."

Sai gathered his unnaturally still teammate in his arms. She was trembling, her want to proceed warring with equally instinctual fear. Sai took her chin in his grasp and looking deeply into her eyes, kissed her. He coaxed her lips to admit him entrance and put all Ino taught him a moment earlier to good use. Soon Sakura had her arms tangled in his short hair, pulling him closer, her body flush against his. Through the lusty haze they both noticed her hardened nipples brushing against his chest through their clothes. Finally, they reluctantly stopped the kiss, Sakura leaning her cheek on his shoulder and trying to collect herself from the high she experienced. She honestly didn't expect kissing to be so good, none the less with Sai! When his hand landed on her butt and squeezed, she didn't even protest.

"Good, good," Ino's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Sudden embarrassment at the position she was in forced Sakura to get out of the embrace.

Ino took advantage of their separation and sauntered to Sai, hips swaying seductively. She smirked, noticing his eyes following them. She placed her hand flat on his chest to feel his escalated heartbeat. "How about you show me to your bed now, hm?" she purred.

Sai chose not to comment on the illogicality of her statement, since his bed was just under the left wall from the door, by the window, instead taking her hand and making the few steps required to get there. Ino, on her side, disregarded Sakura's imploring gaze, as she tried not to let out any of the real nervousness she felt. Having a tight clamp on her emotions again and having gotten rid of the jitters, the blonde pushed Sai to sit down and placed herself on his lap, straddling him.

As the two were occupied with a heated make-out session, Sakura took the same chair as before. Watching them from a corner of her eyes, she thought back to the disastrous conversation which brought her into this uncomfortable situation in the first place.

"_Hey, did you see it? That guy was checking you out!" Ino said excitedly, as the two kunoichis strolled down a street on their way to a sushi bar they favoured. They had met up after Sakura's morning shift in the hospital so they could have a lunch together._

_Sakura took a discrete look back and spotted the male in question – young, tall, with unremarkable face but nice, muscular body. From the way he held himself she surmised he was a civilian._

"_So what?" she asked, not really understanding Ino's excitement._

"_Argh, do you have to be so clueless? He was kind of hot, you know," Ino replied._

"_He was alright, I guess," Sakura shrugged._

"_If we stayed around there longer, maybe he would have asked you out," the blonde pointed out._

"_Stop it, Ino, I'm not interested in that," the medic cut in harshly._

"_Come on, don't tell me you're still hung up over Uchiha! Really, it's..." Ino stopped her rant after seeing Sakura's demonic glare._

"_It's not that. Sasuke's just a teammate. I'm not waiting for him or anything ridiculous like that."_

_Her friend didn't push any more for a while and they got to the restaurant and ordered their meal without further incidents. Sakura thought that would be the end of the topic, but Ino was just biding her time, waiting for an opportune moment to strike. When they were finished with the sushi, she stayed Sakura's hand which was fishing in her pocket for the money._

"_I'll get it," she placed a few bills on the table. The pinkette eyed her suspiciously but nodded._

_They went for a walk to the park. Nice and relaxed, with full stomach, it was no wonder Sakura allowed her guard down._

"_So, why wouldn't you go on a date with that guy?" Ino asked suddenly, stopping the medic in her tracks. "He wasn't in your type?"_

"_He was a stranger."_

"_It's not like a date with him would be anything serious. A kiss, even from an attractive stranger, is still a good way to end a day," Ino proclaimed._

"_A- a kiss?" Sakura stuttered, despite herself. She thought she had that stage of getting flustered behind her already!_

"_A-ha! You've never kissed, am I right? How can you be a kunoichi without knowing about these things?" Ino kept mercilessly prodding at her._

"_D-drop it, pig!" she managed to say more firmly._

"_I bet you've never done anything more, too. That's too bad, what if something came up on a mission and you were unprepared? What if... enemy captured you?" Seeing Sakura's stricken, wide eyes, Ino stopped herself before she went too far._

"_Stop it. I get what you're saying," the pinkette murmured, looking at her feet. But when she raised her eyes, they were burning bright. "Why do I get a feeling you've never done anything more than a kiss, too? Pig?"_

_Ino was taken aback by her sharpness, but she quickly mustered a reply. "Yeah, you've got me. Now that we're in agreement, we should do something about it!" she perked up._

_Sakura was instantly put on defensive by this turn in the conversation. "What,right now?"_

"_Well, why should we wait? Besides we both have a free afternoon."_

_Sakura felt apprehensive about this idea, but Ino's confidence and enthusiasm pulled her into the scheming. It's not like she's never thought about this kind of thing, but usually she left it at the level of dreams and fantasies, too afraid to make them a reality. Her friend's presence was emboldening in a way, helping her find the inner resolve to pursue her desires._

"_Do you have anyone in mind for your first time?" Ino's question snapped her back to attention._

_She thought of all the guys she knew and drew up a big blank. Lee and Naruto most definitely didn't count, even if they had crushes on her, or maybe because of that. She wasn't going to give someone a wrong idea. Not when she wasn't ready for a serious relationship, probably wouldn't be until her retirement. Too many kunoichi stopped working in their profession because of romantic feelings, and she felt she still had a lot to do as a protector of Konoha. She knew Ino was on the same page as her._

"_I don't know. It must be someone trustworthy, who wouldn't talk about it," she answered finally._

"_What about Sai? He fits the bill nicely and he's hot," Ino suggested, smiling mischievously._

"_He's my teammate!" Sakura cried out, appalled._

"_You told me yourself that he's still learning about emotions. As long as we're honest with him, he's not going to imagine there's more to it than it really is."_

_Ino's argument was sound – Sai wouldn't be much trouble to manage for them. If they asked he wouldn't tell a soul, plus he had the good looks. If they stopped him from talking too much... Sakura recalled a few steamy fantasies she had of her new teammate, which on occasion have made her too embarrassed to look him in the eye._

_With no further protests from her, the two kunoichis headed for Sai's apartment._

While Sakura lost herself in the recollection, Ino didn't waste time, kissing Sai fervently and touching his muscles in the back as she was pressing their chests together. If feeling his front through the clothes was elevating her heartbeat, what would it be like bare? She shivered at the naughty thought.

Sai seemed to enjoy her attentions as he was returning them, at first delicately and hesitantly. His fingers wandered over her back in curious exploration, then upon reaching the hem of her purple shirt, went under it daringly. His touch on her naked skin was sending delicious tingles down her spine and Ino couldn't help herself but moan into the kiss.

She ground her hips into his instinctively and felt a telling hardness there. Though she was a virgin, she didn't have to guess what it was. The knowledge that she aroused the guy she secretly fantasized about filled her with intoxicating sense of power. The power over his desire.

Ino was bucking on Sai's lap insistently, massaging his groin and exciting him even more. The increasing force of her bucks destabilized their position and knocked Sai on the back. The kunoichi was quick to take advantage of her being on top. She raised herself on her hands and gave Sai a devilish smirk, making him shudder in needy anticipation. She lowered herself to kiss his jaw and trailed her moistened lips down to also kiss his neck. Going even lower was prevented by his shirt, so she grabbed its hem and helped him remove this annoying obstacle, exposing the pale expanse of his lean chest and abdomen to her gaze. Ino blushed heavily drinking in the sight.

Sai touched her arm, calling for her attention.

"Shouldn't you take off your shirt as well?" he asked.

Ino was surprised that he could still form a full sentence but complied with his request. She pulled down the zipper and shook off the material from her shoulders, leaving herself in only a pale blue bra. Normally she wasn't shy of her body but being under the scrutiny of Sai's sharp gaze made her a bit self-conscious. She moved her hands to cover herself, however he caught her wrists and held them still to her sides. He looked into her wide eyes intensely.

"You're beautiful, Ino."

His tone was so sincere that her breath was caught in her throat. Contrary to popular belief, Ino wasn't told that often, certainly never by her teammates. Family members said it affectionately and proudly and the boys who flirted with her only made it sound plain and unimaginative. Sai's simple compliment had such conviction in it, held so much meaning, she thought her heart would leap out of her chest with the surge of emotion she experienced at the moment.

Ino bent down and kissed him passionately, to which he responded with equal fervor, having an inkling it had something to do with the compliment, but not understanding what it was exactly.

Sai put his hands on her shoulders, gently kneading them and Ino nipped his bottom lip in approval. His caresses left a trail of fire on her flesh, following the pull of gravity. Ino jolted up when he brushed her mounds lightly.

"I'm sorry," Sai apologized, thinking she didn't like it.

"N-no, you didn't do anything wrong. Please, go on," Ino asked.

Sai nodded and resumed his explorations. Carefully, he stroked down her cleavage, then gently cupped her breasts, learning their shape and size. The bra suddenly felt too constricting for the blonde so she reached behind and unclasped it. With satisfaction she observed Sai's rapt interest as she teasingly slid the undergarment down, revealing to him a view many men would kill for. She took his palms and placed them on her starved for touch breasts, stifling a moan at the roughness of his callouses on her sensitive skin. Other than that, Sai's hands were rather soft, his digits long and slender and very talented, as she soon found out. _Artist's hands_, she thought absently.

Sai's manual skills and dexterity were definitely superb. With fingers instead of brushes and Ino's milky white slopes in place of canvas he painted secret shapes and lines, applying various pressure strength to his strokes. He unerringly was learning what Ino enjoyed the most, what made her pant and arch her into his palms, what left her wanting more.

Ino, though pleased with his ministrations, decided to regain her previous dominance. She swayed her hips into him. It excited her how easy it was to make him groan and join in the motion. She couldn't wait anymore.

Th flushed kunoichi raised herself a bit to get rid of the skirt and soaked underwear then reached down to unbuckle Sai's pants. He helped her take them off along with his boxers. They were both finally naked and ready to go.

Unlike Ino, Sai didn't seem to be embarrassed about his nudity. For a moment, she also forgot about her own, too concentrated on the erected, red member under her. It was totally different to know how it looks and to see it for real. She clasped it in her hand and stroked it up and down, eliciting a moan from Sai. She continued, grinning. She loved his reactions.

"P-please... ahhh... Ino..." Sai arched his back, thrusting into her hands.

His incoherent speech invigorated her. She leaned down to wetly kiss his neck and whisper huskily into it, "What do you want, Sai? Tell me."

"Ahh... Ino, please... I'm going to... ahh..."

The blonde cruelly deprived him of her touch, making him gasp at the loss. He tried to rub against her thighs at least, but she held him down.

"Why... did you... stop?" he found his voice again.

"You've had your fun. Now it's my turn," she answered cheekily and pulled him into another passionate kiss.

When they parted, Ino raised herself on her knees, gripping his manhood and lining it up with her womanly folds. She was throbbing with need for him and let out a light moan when she felt the tip brushing against her.

Ino looked down at Sai, laying flat on his back, sweaty and flushed from arousal, his intense black eyes staring lustfully at the place they were about to be joined in. She licked her lips hungrily. Suddenly, it was more important that she would be taking his virginity than that she would be losing hers in the process. The thought that she was his first and no one else could take it from her, not even Sakura, was making her unbelievably wet.

Ino closed her eyes and took the plunge.

The tearing pain made her eyes water but she didn't let up. She stilled herself, Sai halfway in and breathed harshly, adjusting herself.

"Don't move," she hissed to the man squirming under her.

To occupy him otherwise, she started kneading his chest muscles and pinching on his nipples. His fingers in turn traced nonsensical patterns on her straining thighs and curvy hips, finally latching on her ass and pulling her down. Ino slowly descended on the hot pole, since the pain abated. Now, the feeling of her insides being stretched in this new way was making her muscles clench, getting used to it.

Ino started the slow grinding motion with Sai still fully sheathed inside her, but apparently it wasn't good enough for him. He put his hands under the curve of her bottom and took control of the pace. Ino cried out when he lifted her up and slammed down onto himself. She laid her hands on the bed at his sides and participated, riding him impatiently. The pleasure building up in the pit of her stomach disallowed her from slowing down, instead she increased the tempo, bouncing up and down like a ping-pong ball.

Sai was pushing himself up into her with rising need. In the beginning he tried to synch his thrusts with Ino's, but he gave up on it quickly. Now, it was a race to the finish line between the two.

With a particularly violent slam Ino shuddered, giving out a drawn out moan, throwing back her head so that the swishing blond ponytail touched Sai's ankles. The spasms and constrictions of her inner walls were too much for Sai's endurance and he also succumbed to the mind-shattering orgasm.

Harsh panting filled the silence as they were recovering from the exertion. Ino was leaning on her forearms, her head resting in the crook of Sai's neck. Being together like this felt so good, but after they caught their breaths and their bodies cooled down, Ino raised herself again.

"What a ride," she commented brightly, then grimaced. "Uhh, I need a shower, I'm so sweaty!"

She crawled off Sai, his member slipped out of her confines easily. She stood up shakily and winced from the soreness between her legs. She spotted some blood on her thighs, mixed with other fluids.

"Where's the bathroom?" she asked.

"Door on the right," Sai pointed.

With a click of the lock, Ino disappeared in there, leaving Sakura and Sai alone.

Sakura, who bore a silent witness to the erotic act, struggled with herself. How was she going to compete with Ino at this? Even as a medic, she still felt way too shy about sexual matters. She hoped Ino wouldn't comment on her performance, it would be too humiliating to handle. She looked at Sai's naked form, reclining on the bed and grasped for something to say. She settled on, "Aren't you going to get up?"

He looked at her almost lazily, which was unusual for Sai but suited the circumstances just fine.

"Why should I? You can as well come here and do your thing. Go ahead, I don't mind."

Sakura gaped at his nonchalance, then masked her own insecurity with anger.

"I'm not going to do anything with you! You're dirty! Wash yourself first!" she commanded.

"But Ino's in the bathroom. Do you want me to interrupt her shower?"

"No! I.. I'll clean you up myself!" Sakura blurted out, panicked.

Sai raised an eyebrow, not expecting such an offer to come from her.

"Be my guest," he responded evenly and closed his eyes.

Sakura wanted to take back this stupid, impulsive proposition but she knew it was impossible. She busied herself rummaging around, looking for a washcloth so she could get it over quickly. She found a clean white one in the closet. Sai didn't have much clothes, she noticed unsurprised – a shinobi like him applied practicality to every aspect of his life.

She prepared a basin with warm, soapy water and went to Sai's side. "Get up. I'm not getting the sheets wet."

Sai gave her an assessing glance but she studiously avoided meeting his eyes. "Alright," he quietly acquiesced.

He stood up, uncaring of his nudity and Sakura dipped the washcloth in the basin, then wrung out the excess water so it wouldn't drip all over the floor. Some of it ran down her forearms in rivulets when she did this.

"You should take off your shirt or it'll get wet," Sai pointed out to her.

She bristled but knew he was right. She unzipped it hesitantly, dragging it out, unknowing that a slow manner in which she revealed her creamy skin was incredibly teasing. Sai couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight, drinking it in like a thirsty man drinks water on the desert. Sakura didn't notice it, too embarrassed to look at him straight. She folded the shirt and put it on a chair, then turned back to him. She was wearing a black lacy bra, which nicely contrasted with her pale complexion. Before Sai said anything, she stopped him. "Not a single word." Her tone was firm.

Sai kept quiet and she went went back to the self-appointed task of washing him. She took the washcloth again and started at his left shoulder, going down his arm, meticulously cleaning every nook and cranny. She paid special attention to his hand, delicately taking care of every single finger, sending warm tingles along his nerves. Then she moved to his other arm and repeated the process.

Only now, standing up so close to him, Sakura realized that not only Sai was slim and agile, but also he was a head taller than her. Looking straight ahead she could see light marks on his jaw and neck left by Ino. For some reason, they irritated her. She dipped the washcloth again and scrubbed at them rigorously, as if wanting them to come off like a particularly bothersome stain.

Moving down, she washed Sai's collarbones, suppressing the sudden urge to lave them with her tongue. Instead, she curiously traced the thin scar beneath them with her index finger, mentally evaluating the skill of the medic who healed it as above adequate. It was a clean, neat job... but she could have done it better, without leaving the scar.

On his part, Sai was enjoying himself more than he had initially thought he would. The simple act of Sakura washing his body held a secret meaning beyond its basic function. The gentleness of her swipes, the care she put into getting all the dirty spots, the light touch of her finger on his skin – it caused a shuddering excitement to build up in him. Sai observed her focused expression, then lowered his gaze to a few drops of water that landed on her. He followed their path as they tantalizingly slid into her cleavage. An irrational thought occurred to him – that he wanted to be one of these little, lucky droplets. Or even better – he wanted to lick the wetness from her fair skin.

He wanted to check if she tasted like her namesake.

Sakura grazed his nipple inadvertently and his self-restraint snapped.

She gasped when he unexpectedly moved to grip her chin and make her look up. Her wide, green eyes and slightly open mouth were too tempting. Sai swooped down and claimed her lips in a hot, languorous kiss. She tasted like heaven.

It was a long while before he broke the kiss, only to nip at her jaw and lick down her neck, a soft moan spurning him on to latch on her pulse point and suck on it gently. When he let go, she was breathing hard, a red mark displayed on her neck.

"What was that?" she questioned, catching her breath.

"Just checking something."

Sakura frowned at the non-answer but grabbed the washcloth again.

She was moving steadily lower, washing his chest, stomach, sides... The anticipating tension mounted in both of them, however she avoided his center altogether, sliding the washcloth down his hip, though not before she caught the sight of his half-hard member out of the corner of her eye. Sakura blushed and averted her gaze.

Kneeling down before him, she started at his feet. Sai obediently raised one leg than another when she required it to clean the soles. He wasn't ticklish which she found displeasing as she scrubbed at his calves and shins. She slowly made her way upwards, discovering that he was sensitive in the bend of his knees. Trailing his body like this, with the eye of a woman not a medic, allowed her to learn its secret pleasure spots and intricacies that she's never known about. The experience was fundamentally different from anything she's encountered earlier.

Sai found the sight of her on her knees before him incredibly erotic. The warm water droplets was rapidly cooling off on his skin, as they slowly rolled down his body, and a draft of air made him shiver. His heartbeat accelerated from the tension when Sakura cleaned his outer thighs and lightly touched his inner thigh to signalize for him to spread his legs more to make room for her. His member throbbed in excitement, as it reached its full length even though she hasn't even touched it yet.

On her part, Sakura felt hot all over her body as she attended to the dirtiest places on him, sticky with dried combined fluids of Ino and him. She could no longer avoid looking at his crotch. Reaching there with utmost care, she delicately wiped his ballsack and the area behind it. The touch sent electrifying sensation straight into Sai's center and he quietly moaned. This sound and a few drops of clear liquid that dripped from his tip stirred the empowering, strong emotion that washed over Sakura, filling her with confidence.

Sakura wrapped the washcloth around his ready manhood and cleaned it with long, swift strokes up and down. Even through the material she felt its pulsating heat. The red tip poked out from the covering, some more drops oozing out if it, which she wiped away with her bare thumb. She looked up at him and, seeing him watching her closely, smiled mischievously and deliberately stuck her tongue out and swirled it around the thumb, tasting the wetness on it, then gave it a gentle suck, taking only its tip into her mouth. All the time, her eyes stared provocatively into his.

He was so high-strung, so close to bursting and falling apart in the seams, he thought he'd go insane if she didn't touch him. Sakura's gaze flickered to the steady dribble from his engorged tip, which was trickling down the veiny shaft. She licked her lips suggestively and Sai shuddered, his imagination going haywire.

Then she took away the washcloth and stood up.

"Why... why did you stop?" Sai asked, disappointment lacing his words as he acutely felt the deprivation of her touch.

"Well, I wanted to clean you so I did. I'm finished," she answered playing oblivious but the smirk on her face revealed her amusement at his predicament.

Sai growled in frustration. As always, his teammate managed to be unpredictable, throwing him for a loop with her actions that didn't match the words and causing new, strong emotions to arise in his chest. He remembered all that he did with Ino and how eagerly she responded to his advances. The plan formed, he put it into realization on the spot.

Sakura gasped when Sai once again claimed her lips, furiously taking them in a clash of tongues and teeth. His hand went to the small of her back to press her body to his, her bare skin sliding against his damp torso, her nipples puckering due to the coolness of it. His other hand fumbled with the clasp of her bra, so she reached behind and helped him with undoing it. They parted only for her to take off the undergarment, then Sai gathered her in his arms and turned around, pushing her down on his bed and swiftly following. He attacked her neck again while his hands confidently mapped down her half-naked frame, caressing every centimeter of exposed skin he could get to. She cried out when he pinched her sensitive nubs then rolled them in his fingers to sooth the sting. His mouth soon enveloped one of them, worrying at it carefully with teeth and flicking it with tongue, eliciting even more moans and gasps of encouragement from the kunoichi.

While Sakura had thought that using the same bed and laying in the same sheets that Ino and Sai slept in would be gross, in reality it wasn't. The scent surrounding her was pure Sai – his sweat and musky fragrance turned her on more as she inhaled it deeply. Her fingers tangled in his short hair, urging him on in his ministrations on her breasts. His free hand slid down her flat stomach and pulled on her skirt and shorts, which came off after Sakura raised her hips. Not stopping his worship of her creamy mounds, Sai cupped her womanhood through the black panties matching the discarded bra, feeling a wet patch of her juices on them. His deft fingers proceeded to rub her through the material, making her go crazy with impatience.

"Stop teasing, dammit!" she hissed hoarsely and gripped his own painfully needy rod, giving it a punishing squeeze.

Sai obeyed, groaning with pleasure from it, and pulled the flimsy panties down her slim legs. He parted her thighs and rubbed his manhood against them to relieve some of his need. With Ino, he didn't get a good look at her before their coupling so he allowed himself a moment to just enjoy the view of Sakura spread before him, flushed, with erect nipples adorning the pleasantly round and soft mounds, her pink nether lips glistening with clear secretions seeping out from the hidden entrance. It was a grand picture he committed to memory. His eyes lingered on the wisp of pink hair on top of her pubis. So it was a natural colour, he mused.

Sai daringly dipped his finger between the folds, exploring them, then pushed them apart to reveal the small hole.

"S-sai! D-don't look there!" she protested, at being so exposed and vulnerable, her face bright red.

"But it's only fair, you saw mine," Sai calmly reasoned, fingering around the opening, then sliding a digit in, causing her to jerk in surprise. He moved it around experimentally, marveling at the tightness, barely allowing him any room to maneuver. He used the other hand to rub the rosy petals, which soon bloomed in a darker shade and became puffy. When he grazed her pearl she moaned loudly, thrusting her hips more into his hands. A whine emerged from her throat as he slipped out his finger. He licked around it, liking the saltiness of the liquid.

Sakura unexpectedly pulled him down to taste herself on his lips.

"Now, put it in now," she whispered to him in between the heated kisses, clutching his shoulders and bending her knees to better accommodate him in the cradle of her hips. His erection pressed against her center. She didn't wait for him, instead taking it in her grasp and pointing the tip at her entrance. "Ahh... do it, Sai..."

She didn't have to say more as he has run out of patience already. Surrendering to the scorching need, he pushed through the tight ring of flesh, embedding himself in the blazing hot sheath. She grunted lowly, her nails digging into his shoulders, as she fought off the pain, immobilizing him for a moment with the strong grip.

Being inside and unmoving was a pure, sweet agony for Sai, so when she finally relaxed and let him go, his lust-riddled brain focused only on the fast, harsh pumping with his hips. He powerfully plowed into her, groaning and panting from exertion and pleasure. However, his erratic motions weren't as satisfying for Sakura, so she wrapped her legs around him, her hands laying on his sides as she started guiding him into slower but harder thrusts. Unable to break her hold, he had to comply with the tempo she was dictating.

They achieved what was previously out of Sai's grasp when joined with Ino – the synchronization, which proved to be much more fulfilling than wild, uneven rocking. When Sakura released her hold, he didn't lose the rhythm, too intent on maintaining it until the end. The friction and heat rose between them, becoming unbearable, the sweat was trickling down their bodies, but they couldn't stop. Something had to give first and if Sai was in his right state of mind he'd have supposed it to be his sanity.

In the sexual frenzy he smashed his pelvis into her, reaching deeply to hit just the right spot. At her loud wails of encouragement he held the same angle to hit it repeatedly, time after time, bringing expression of absolute bliss on Sakura's face. The powerful clench of spasmodically convulsing inner muscles caused him to black out temporarily, the intense release rushing through his body like a flood.

Sai regained his senses, slumped over heavy breathing Sakura, still buried inside her. She put her hand on his shoulder, pushing with no real strength behind it, so he rolled off her to lay on the bed next to her, too wiped out in the most satisfactory way to care about anything. His eyelids dropped tiredly and he succumbed to the peaceful sleep.

Sakura also closed her eyes, catching her breathe and contemplating the loss of her innocence. She couldn't believe she actually did it and that her first was with Sai, of all people! Though she had to give him that he was a very fast learner to be so good at it already just at his second try. She relaxed, feeling not very different, but happier, what she attributed to the endorphins her brain released from the orgasm.

As she relaxed, she noticed that it was too quiet... She turned on her side to see Ino, wrapped in the towel, standing against the wall next to the open bathroom door. She huffed at the amused look on the blonde's face, which was saying "See, I told you so."

Feeling unpleasantly sweaty and stinking of sex, Sakura rose from the bed, gritting teeth at the soreness in her core. She went shakily past Ino into the bathroom, a little unnerved by her silence. She closed the door, not bothering to lock it and stepped under the shower, the warm spray of water washing the dirtiness from her skin and soothing the aching muscles. Sakura sighed contentedly and reached for Sai's plain, odourless soap.

When she exited the bathroom, Ino was waiting on the chair, already dressed. Sakura quickly put on her own clothes and looked around, making sure she didn't forget about anything. She caught the sight of Sai, curled on the bed on his side, the tousled sheets not covering anything. The corners of her mouth twitched. It was heartwarming that he could sleep with them still in his apartment. For such a good shinobi, lowering his guard like this meant that he had a lot of trust for them.

"Should we wake him up to talk about...it?" Ino asked, casting a long look at their first lover.

Sakura shook her head.

"Let him rest, he's too exhausted to understand anything we could say to him. I'll have a word with him tomorrow," she replied.

"Alright."

The two kunoichi walked out and closed the front door without making a sound. The sun was setting as they crossed through the still busy village, going home.

"You know what, forehead?" Ino started.

"Yeah?"

"We should have a drink. To celebrate, I know you have a morning shift in the hospital," she clarified seeing Sakura's frown.

The medic gave a thought to this, then nodded. Ino beamed at her.

"But only if we get dango," Sakura added a condition.

"Deal!"

All in all, it was a pretty good day for both of them.

* * *

Ding dong!

The bell rang but the artist didn't let his concentration waver as his brush stroked across the canvas. Besides the door were unlocked. As expected, the visitor didn't wait long for him to open up, instead letting themselves in. He heard the soft steps but didn't look away from his new painting, too absorbed by the flowing lines to worry about the guest.

"Hi Sai, how are you today?" Sakura asked.

"Fine," he gave a laconic reply.

To tell the truth, from the time he woke up at the morning, he's been feeling great, fantastic even. At first he thought that it was all a strange dream, because Ino and Sakura would never come to him for sex, but his own nudity and the sight of two small blood stains on the rumpled sheets were enough proof that it had indeed happened the previous day. The vulgar images of it couldn't leave his mind, so after he'd cleaned up he sat down with the brush in hand. He hasn't stood up for five hours, since a sole break to change the canvas on the easel, too absorbed in his work.

Sakura took a deep breath.

"I came to talk with you about yesterday," she began softly. "Ino and I want you to know that it doesn't change anything between the three of us. We're not in any kind of relationship with you, we're just your friends. Also, we would like if you didn't mention what happened here to anyone else."

Sai nodded distractedly. His brow scrunched when he painted a particularly difficult part.

"So, you don't have anything against it if it stays just between the three of us?" Sakura questioned, wanting a spoken agreement from him.

"Yes, Hag, now leave, I'm busy."

Sakura's brow twitched in annoyance with his insulting brush-off. She rounded on him.

"What the hell is so important that you can't even look at me?" She stepped around the painting to see what it was and stilled, gaping in shock.

"Are you alright, Hag?" Sai asked with concern at her sudden quietness.

"Wh-what is it?" she choked out.

"Don't you have a mirror, Hag? It's obviously you, no one else has natural pink hair," he responded.

"I know it's me! Why am I naked?!" she screamed at him.

"Well, you were naked yesterday," he answered as it was the most logical explanation. "Besides I've already painted Beautiful, it's drying up over there." Sakura's eyes followed the direction in which he pointed and found a painting of equally nude Ino leaning against the wall. She clenched her fists.

Sai, oblivious to the brewing danger, continued speaking. "You should really go, I have to finish this today, when my memory of the details and colours is still fresh. Painting from memory is a lot harder than you would think, Hag."

Sakura crackled her knuckles menacingly.

"Harder? Harder?" She smiled tightly and Sai, recognizing that smile, backed away. "I'll show you harder, you idiot pervert!"

Her chakra-filled fist connected with Sai's jaw, knocking his lights out.

When he came back from the hospital the next day, the offending art was already gone. Sai shrugged and took out a sketchbook. Smaller format is easier to hide...

**The End of Chapter 1  
**


	2. Birthday Bash

Disclaimer: "Naruto" belongs to Kishimoto.

English isn't my first language.

Pairings: Sakura/Sai, Ino/Shikamaru, Sakura/Chouji

* * *

**Kunoichi Files**

**2. Birthday Bash**

As a general rule, Shikamaru Nara was a pretty laid-back guy for a ninja. He took joy from simple things in life and didn't have any big ambitions besides his desire to protect Konoha and continue his father's legacy. Unfortunately, his own high intelligence worked against his wishes of average, simple life, being the main cause for his fast advancement in ranks, which in turn placed more and more responsibilities on his shoulders. Any free time he could have just for himself was treasured and all disturbances were heavily frowned upon.

That is why Shikamaru felt slightly annoyed when someone found his resting spot under a tree on one of unused training grounds. He held a small hope they weren't looking specifically for him, maybe just passing-by, but he had no such luck – after spotting him, the person quickly approached. From the soundless steps he deduced it was definitely a skilled shinobi, at least Chunin level. Their chakra was a bit familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint its exact owner. Reluctantly, he cracked his eyes open to see who it was.

The newest addition to Team Kakashi greeted him with a too wide and practiced smile to be genuine. Shikamaru was rather surprised to see him there, though he didn't let it show. To his knowledge, they had nothing in common with each other and they've met only once on a social call. He remembered the guy was learning about emotions and expressing them, so logically it could be assumed that he came for some sort of advice. Shikamaru inwardly groaned, thinking just how troublesome it would be.

"Hello, Shikamaru-san," the guy said pleasantly, then seated himself against the trunk of the tree without invitation.

"Sai, right?" he grunted, finally remembering the guy's name.

"Yes, I'm Sai," came the confirmation and nothing else, the conversation cut off before it even started. It suited Shikamaru just fine, so he proceeded to ignore his newfound company, thankfully silent and non-intrusive, and enjoy his rest.

A quiet rustling of paper followed by the swishing of paintbrush didn't bother him as they faded into the background noise, along with wind in the leaves and birds' singing. The two shinobi existed peacefully next to each other, no words passed between them which could ruin the harmony of the moment. The moment stretched into a few hours, until the sun was setting on the horizon, causing Sai to close his sketchbook and get up, the painting finished for the day.

"Thank you for your time, Shikamaru-san," he said unexpectedly, making the still prostrate genius look up at him. "I'm glad you're not exactly the same as Beautiful says you are."

"And what does Ino say?" Shikamaru didn't have trouble recalling that Sai's nickname for her was Beautiful – she gushed about it frequently, no doubt wanting him and Chouji to also call her that.

"To quote 'The insufferable lazy ass, who secretly likes to boss me around. He's so passive, it's irritating!'" Sai recited with a damnably pleased smile plastered on his face.

Shikamaru's brow twitched. Only Ino could manage to annoy him through a proxy...

"However, her description is incorrect. You're not irritating, you're just the lazy ass." The guy didn't mince words, did he? Shikamaru regarded him carefully, looking for any signs that the insult was purposeful and not finding any. Name calling wasn't something he took personally, but even without a real malicious intent, Sai was trying on his nerves.

"What about bossing people around part?" he asked, mildly curious.

"That remains to be seen, I didn't observe you interacting with other people long enough to know for sure," Sai replied.

Shikamaru sighed, expelling the annoyance with a breath.

"Beautiful complains about you a lot," Sai voiced an observation. "Although she doesn't want to get rid of you. That's interesting," he mused.

Shikamaru wondered just how much Ino was hanging around the guy for him to know her so well and why hasn't she mentioned it to her own team at all. The discretion about this matter seemed uncharacteristic of her.

"I have to go now. Goodbye, Shikamaru-san," Sai nodded politely and promptly left.

Now that Shikamaru thought about it, Ino did change somehow recently. She was in a better mood, smiled more, her posture was relaxed more often then not. She has been disappearing frequently, a few times not coming to team dinners and when asked about it, claimed she was doing "girl stuff" with Sakura, but didn't disclose any details about their activities. Coupled with his recent knowledge of her closer acquaintance with Sai, which for some reason she's kept under wraps, there was no shadow of a doubt that something suspicious was going on. Shikamaru, though usually aloof, cared greatly about his teammate, even if she nagged too much, and felt a need to look into this.

"So troublesome," a sigh emerged from the shinobi.

Unlike Shikamaru, Sai didn't have any deep thoughts stemming from their meeting. He took a leisure walk around the village, keeping an eye out on the spots granting a picturesque view he would like to paint in the future, only stopping after the evening set and he felt a pang of hunger.

Sakura was sitting in the outdoor stand and pigging out on dango when the artist found her.

"You'll get fat if you will be eating so much of that," he observed out-loud.

"Shut up, Sai, I'm famished," she responded, slightly annoyed, and bit into another round and sweet dumpling.

He sat next to her and ordered a green tea for himself. "I won't get it up for a fat, ugly woman, just so you know, Hag," he whispered, leaning to her ear and stole a dango stick from her plate.

Sakura's eyes shot daggers at him, but he remained unconcerned of her wrath as he munched on the tasty treat. She didn't appreciate him mentioning these matters in a public place for no good reason, even if he was subtle enough to pull it off undetected. In a form of a payback she snatched his tea when it arrived a minute later and took a large gulp. Sai eyed the half-empty glass blankly and finished his stolen dango, which he washed down with the remainder of the tea. Sakura blushed a little, noticing that his mouth touched the same place on the rim of the glass as hers had done. Was the indirect kiss intended? She regarded him speculatively, her gaze falling on his lips, moist from the drink, thin but so fantabulously talented. Just remembering how much she enjoyed them spilled the warmth all over her body.

"Something wrong, Hag? You're staring. I heard it's rude, you know," Sai's voice snapped her back from her daydream. This time her cheeks reddened from mortification. What was she doing, staring at him and having filthy thoughts in public? She was torn between wishing the ground would swallow her up and exploding into anger. Ultimately, she chose the latter.

"What the hell do you want, Sai?" she growled.

"You looked constipated, sitting here alone and getting fat, so as your friend I came to assist you," his tactless, infuriating reasoning made her want to choke the life out of him. However, Sakura was his teammate for long enough to learn how to read between the lines.

"It's called 'troubled' not 'constipated'," she corrected angrily.

Sai blinked in surprise. "Are you sure? Because to me it looked..."

"Finish it and you die," Sakura threatened.

Sai backed off, recognizing that she wasn't joking. Sakura took a moment to put a lid on her flaring temper, then slumped down with a sigh, deflated. He gave her a questioning look.

"Ino's birthday will be soon," she explained softly.

"Are you worrying about old age coming for both of you, Hag? You shouldn't, you still have a few years before the wrinkles appear."

"I ought to murder you," Sakura muttered darkly. "I'm worrying because I don't have a clue about what to get her and her birthday is this weekend! I'm running out of time!"

"Maybe you should give her the anti-wrinkle cream? So she would be prepared to preserve her beauty."

His stupid proposition was punished with a painful bump on the head.

"You're such an idiot," Sakura ground out but hitting him made her feel decidedly better.

She paid for her meal and stepped out from the dango stand, Sai following her. Turning to him, she saw that he was rubbing his injury. Her eyes softened. After all, even with his social cluelessness and insulting ways, he cared for her enough to notice and ask about her troubles. He's made a lot of progress since the time they had met.

"Come on, Sai, I'll walk you home," she offered, her mood brightening considerably at the thought of working out her frustrations with him in the most pleasurable way. Not caring for a reply, not like he would ever object to it, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along, grinning wolfishly as they headed for his apartment.

Once they locked the door behind them, Sakura pounced. Sai eagerly met her lips in a furious clash of tongues and teeth as he run his hands all over her body, only heating up her desire to blazing temperature. She impatiently tugged on his clothes and they both broke apart to quickly divest themselves from the barriers between their charged up flesh. Resuming the kiss, they tumbled into the bed.

Sakura, having landed on top, took advantage of her position to assault Sai's neck with her lips, biting and sucking on his sensitive spot as her hands became busy with aggressively jerking his shaft up. The pleasured groans emitted from his chest as he succumbed to her ministrations, their rumble resounding in her burning, hollow core, which demanded to be filled. Overwhelmed by the instinct, she abruptly sunk down on Sai's throbbing member. Amidst guttural moaning, she slammed down viciously, the force of their movements aided by his frantic thrusts upwards. The single wave of release hit them hard but subsided after a short while, leaving them shaken yet still wanting more.

Their fist joining all too messy and brief for the kunoichi, she didn't let Sai have a moment of rest, stroking his slick manhood sedately into readiness once again. The second time they didn't need to hurry anymore, taking it slower to fully enjoy each others' bodies. Sai flipped his lover on her back so he could lavish her neglected breasts with attention, while his palms caressed her quivering thighs. Moving up maddeningly slow, he reached her weeping slit, where he frustrated her even more with light, teasing touches. She painfully dug her nails in his shoulders in a warning and he complied with her wishes, slipping two fingers inside to thoroughly massage her drenched inner flesh in languid, steady strokes as he rubbed firm circles on her folds outside at the same time. He was so attuned to her body, he accurately lightened his touches or altogether pulled away just before she could achieve her completion, driving her insane with need. With a growl and strong push, she reversed their position to give him a similar treatment, nipping and sucking all over his pale skin, making him tremble under her uncontrollably and beg for release in broken voice as she torturously slowly glided her palms over his burning, rock hard member.

Only when he pulled her down to claim her puffy, plush lips in a desperate kiss, she relented and gently slid onto him, his back arching off the bed to fill more of her as he moaned into her mouth softly. Never breaking the kiss, she rode him at a leisure pace, which soon even she herself couldn't stand, the sweet ache pervading her center needing to be relieved. With his aid, she picked up the rhythm, rising and sinking harshly on top of him, until the final push, when all her muscles locked tightly in place as the tidal wave crashed into her, wrecking her body with blinding pleasure, her mind blanking out with all the senses cut off from the outside world. Sai watched her climax through half-lidded eyes and it seemed to travel down their connection to consume him whole, until there was no difference between them both, only a mass of flesh writhing in throes of carnal passion.

Near midnight, when she was about to leave, utterly satisfied from their bed activities, Sai spoke up.

"You should ask her teammates."

Pulling her boots on, she gave a start, not expecting him to be awake. "What do you mean?"

"Logically, Beautiful's teammates would know what she'd like for a gift," he elaborated.

Sakura bit her lip, mulling it over. "Well, I suppose... And it's also Shikamaru's birthday, come to think about it..." Suddenly, she shot up, excitement lightning up her features. "I've got it! Of course!" she exclaimed. "You're the best, Sai!" she pecked him on a cheek and bounded out the door energetically.

Sai touched his tingling cheek and smiled faintly. It was surprisingly nice to be thanked like this.

He laid back and closed his eyes in contemplation of many meanings a kiss could have, soon drifting into sleep.

* * *

Shikamaru trudged wearily behind the rest of the team, his posture slouched. Despite the relative easiness of the mission which was just a simple escort of a client to the Earth country with no direct confrontation with other ninjas, he was completely exhausted, the main cause for it walking at the front of the group – the two extremely troublesome kunoichis, Ino and Sakura. Ino alone was more than enough for him but with the other woman around she became a nightmare, always pulling him into their arguments, when he would like to be anywhere but, just to avoid it, even at home slaving away at doing chores. The tiny voice, telling him that it wasn't that bad and he was whining, was promptly ignored.

His investigation about Ino and Sai's newfound connection didn't have a chance to commence because of this new assignment, which had come next morning after his encounter with the guy. Shikamaru preferred not to approach Sakura with his questions in fear of sparking another conflict between the kunoichis. That way he spared himself a subsequent headache.

Shikamaru looked at the women, hearing Ino's merry laughter, and his eyes caught the enticing sway of their behinds clad in form-fitting shorts and miniskirts. Wonder how they would feel in his hands... He quickly averted his gaze to the ground, alarmed at the dangerous direction his thoughts have taken and swearing to himself not to allow it ever again. Being pegged as a pervert would be too much trouble for him.

At his side, Chouji chuckled lightly.

"We have a nice view today, right, Shikamaru?" he asked teasingly, giving his friend a knowing look.

"What a drag," Shikamaru just mumbled, trying to save his face but instead eliciting another chortle from the Akimichi. He wouldn't have laughed if he knew what the kunoichis were talking about the previous night.

_Shikamaru had the first watch for the night. He was making rounds around the perimeter, minding his own business, when he heard his name from the women's tent. Overcome by curiosity, he stepped closer to find out what the conversation was about._

"_It's Shikamaru's birthday too, Ino. What are you getting for him?"_

"_Well, I don't know... Maybe some peace and quiet, he would enjoy it," Ino said half-joking. The women giggled._

"_I know something he would enjoy more," Sakura revealed mysteriously._

"_Oh really?"_

"_A kiss, for starters. And maybe something more... pleasurable later," the sultry tone made the eavesdropping shinobi redden slightly. Thankfully, no one was around to see it._

"_Forehead, are you kidding? No way I would do it with Shikamaru!"_

_He felt a little stung by the vehemence of Ino's rejection but shrugged it off. The sentiment was mutual._

"_If not him, then perhaps Chouji? Come on, Pig, you're always raving about my teammates, but yours are pretty hot, too! And don't try to deny it!" Sakura silenced the feeble protests. "Have you honestly never thought about getting it on with them?"_

_Ino's spluttering was in equal parts outraged and embarrassed, however Sakura didn't let up on her wheedling until she got a straight answer. Shikamaru pricked his ears up, listening in with bated breath._

"_Well... once, yes, when we were in the mixed bath," she admitted finally. "Asuma-sensei was still alive then."_

_Shikamaru vividly remembered that day. It was then he noticed for the first time that Ino's grown up into a woman, the discovery ever since making him too uncomfortable to ponder about it or be in close quarters with her for longer than absolutely necessary. He found it hard to reconcile the feminine Ino with the annoying, bossy girl he was used to. To know that she noticed him in that way too was both reassuring and terrifying._

"_So, how were they? Muscular, wet... maybe appetizing?" Sakura wanted details._

"_Ummm... all of it. Chouji's not fat at all," Ino shared._

"_What about Shikamaru? Which one of them would you rather choose to do it with?"_

_He wanted to leave, really, to continue his rounds and stay ignorant of all this, but his feet were rooted to the spot as he awaited Ino's response. The truth was, he wanted to hear her genuine opinion about him._

"_I guess... Shikamaru," came the answer so quiet, he barely heard it._

_His heart soared in unexplainable elation, only to be brought down by ruthless, cold logic. What was there to be happy about? That Ino would choose him over Chouji to bed? It doesn't mean that he was her first choice from all. He suppressed a sigh from emerging._

"_That's good, then I'll take Chouji," Sakura said decisively, startling both Shikamaru and Ino, judging by her surprised gasp._

"_What the hell, Forehead? I said it only hypothetically, I'm not really going to do anything like that!"_

"_Oh, it's getting late and I have the second watch. Good night, Pig." Shikamaru heard the zipping of the sleeping bag._

"_Don't think that this is over, Forehead," Ino fumed._

"_I wouldn't dream about it. By the way, have a nice dream about hot naked Shikamaru."_

"_Forehead!" the blonde squeaked angrily._

_Sakura chuckled._

_Shikamaru, dazed from the revelations he uncovered, sneaked away, not paying any attention to his surroundings. Only walking into a tree forced him to return to reality and resume his guard duty until he had to wake Sakura for her shift. He guiltily avoided making eye contact with her, but it seemed she was unaware he overheard that conversation._

Shikamaru sighed tiredly. It was all just too troublesome, filling his mind with distracting thoughts like that. He concentrated on putting one foot in front of another, the road before him stretching endlessly.

Meanwhile, Sakura leaned to Ino whispering, "They're checking us out, Pig."

Ino made a face. "Stop it, Forehead. I don't want to hear another word about this."

The medic feigned innocence. "What do you mean? I'm just stating a fact. Besides, I bet Shikamaru's staring at your ass hungrily, thinking up with this genius brain of his all the wicked things he could do to you."

Ino turned an interesting shade of red at the implication, her imagination spinning out of control and assaulting her with some very dirty, disturbing images... She shook herself out of it with trouble.

"Shut it, Forehead," she glowered.

"Alright, alright. But you know you'd like it," Sakura said mirthfully, enjoying Ino's bashful reactions to the teasing. If she knew it was so much fun, she would have done it earlier. Though who would have guessed Shikamaru, the lazy ass Ino constantly complained about, was her weak spot? Sakura herself had found out accidentally and since then she couldn't stop tormenting the blonde about it. She didn't feel guilty, confident that her birthday gift would make it up to Ino hundred times over.

The medic rubbed her hands gleefully. She simply couldn't wait!

It was mid-afternoon when they reached a town and decided to stay there due to Sakura's insistence, backed by Chouji's hunger and Shikamaru's exhaustion, outvoting Ino who was all for upping the pace and returning to Konoha late at night. The pinkette skipped happily ahead, pulling her grumbling friend along to the local inn. Ino's mood greatly improved once they discovered the hot springs for guests. The whole team took the chance to soak in them, relishing the water rich with minerals.

The muscles pleasantly loosened from the hot bath, they converged in the women's room for a dinner. What they found inside was a big feast for easily ten people, with delicacies like different kinds of meats and fresh vegetable dishes, the sight making them drool involuntarily and, in Chouji's case, weep for joy.

Sakura seated herself casually at the traditional low table and picked up her chopsticks. "Eat up everyone," she smiled at their dumbstruck expressions. For Chouji, she didn't have to say it twice.

"Why did you order all of this?" Ino questioned.

"Well, of course to celebrate your and Shikamaru's birthdays. Did you forget about it?"

"Thanks, Sakura, but you really didn't have to," Shikamaru spoke up.

"It's my early gift for both of you, so sit down and eat before Chouji cleans the table," she gave a side-long glance at their teammate gorging himself on the mouthwatering cuisine in the food ecstasy.

Not having any reason to argue, they joined in the feast, Ino sitting across Sakura and the guys on the other sides of the table. The evening was spent in a pleasant atmosphere. When Sakura pulled out the sake bottles and poured for all of them, no one protested, although Ino had her suspicions that it was a part of some diabolical scheme the medic cooked up. Following the custom, she took the bottle and filled Sakura's cup to the brim.

"Kampai!" they toasted.

After eating the friends were just talking and relaxing together. With alcohol providing a nice buzz, their thoughts started wandering as their inhibitions were gradually eroding. Sakura observed with a hidden smirk how Ino and Shikamaru glanced at each other frequently, their mutual attraction obvious to everyone but the two of them. She sipped from her cup before taking action, fully intending to help them get together and screw each other into oblivion.

Ino was trying to keep track of the anecdote Chouji was telling them while surreptitiously admiring Shikamaru's collarbones which were peeking out from beneath his robe's collar, when Sakura moaned, for all intents and purposes looking fatigued and light-headed. The blonde's gaze immediately zoomed on her and imperceptibly narrowed as the medic sidled to Shikamaru, pressing her side to his and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" he asked concernedly.

_It's clear that she's faking!_ Ino fumed, not believing his idiocy. In her anger she seemed to forget that Shikamaru didn't possess her medical training nor the knowledge of Sakura's high alcohol-tolerance.

"Let's just stay like this and I'll get better soon," Sakura replied huskily, observing from under eyelashes Ino clenching her fists.

She laid her hand on Shikamaru's knee and slowly started stroking up his thigh in a soothing manner. Since he was sitting cross-legged, soon she would have free access to his groin, with every stroke closing in on it. Pressed against him, she knew he didn't remain unaffected, his heartbeat and breathing speeding up a bit. _Now for the final push!_

She shot Ino the winning, sugary smile and the feeble hold on control the blonde had, snapped.

"Forehead! Get your hands off him!" she bellowed.

"But why? He's so warm and nice..." Sakura paused, then put her hand on his crotch and lightly patted. "Oh, and so hard," she finished with a wicked smile.

Shikamaru was shocked by how forward Sakura was with him, not hesitating to fondle his junk in front of everyone. But seeing Ino's thunderous expression, he just knew he would have to pay for this unwanted service he received. He sent a hopeful look at Chouji, but his best friend shook his head, unwilling to get between the two temperamental kunoichis.

"I think that's enough, Sakura, you should stop before..." he reached down to take her hand off him, however she tugged on his member strongly, causing the air to rush out of his lungs in a gasp.

"Before what?" she asked playfully.

Shikamaru collected his scattered thoughts. "... before you do something you will regret."

"Oh, the only one who will regret anything would be Ino unless she moves her cute butt over here and takes the matters into her own hands," she replied flippantly. "Or are you afraid you can't handle it, Pig?"

The goading was transparent, yet Ino still fell for it, not caring about anything other than stopping Sakura's advances on her teammate.

"I'm going to kill you, Forehead!" Ino lunged at her, but she easily evaded, making the blonde crash into the male sitting between them, effectively landing in his lap and knocking them both to the tatami floor as he wasn't quick enough to prop himself on his hands to prevent the fall. Now he found himself under Ino's slight body, acutely feeling her soft curves through the thin material of their robes. She attempted to crawl off him and grazed his hardness with her leg, to which he groaned.

"Aren't you desperate, Ino? You literally jumped him," Sakura didn't relent in her verbal attack. "I hope you do realize it's not nearly enough to please a man?"

The blonde would have responded if not for her mouth being dried up from the intimate feeling of Shikamaru's bulge. His warmth, his clean scent were spurring her on to act reckless. Changing her mind, she raised her eyes to Sakura, giving her a challenging look. She decided to play medic's game, it was a matter of her womanly pride and most definitely not caused by the pulsing which coursed through her body and centered in her core like a second heartbeat.

"I can please a man so much he'd never look at another woman again," she boasted.

"All talk and no action. Show me then I'll believe it," Sakura quirked her brow.

Ino leaned down to kiss Shikamaru's neck and sensually trace a path up to his earlobe with her tongue, making him squirm under her unconsciously.

"You enjoy it," she accused, whispering into his ear, blowing warm air on the sensitive skin there. "Was it that good when Sakura grabbed your cock?" she asked and bit there gently.

Shikamaru just grunted, his will to stop her diminishing into nothingness as she tongued the area, soothing the pain. She slid her palms up his chest to briefly knead his shoulders then reached to the collar and parted it, revealing the defined torso to her hungry gaze. She descended upon it, licking and touching in all the right places. Shikamaru made himself comfortable on the floor under her, receiving all the attention with small groans and jerks, his eyes closed to better concentrate on the pleasurable sensations.

Satisfied with the outcome of her manipulations, Sakura turned to the only person who hasn't actively participated in the drama – Chouji. He was still sitting cross-legged at the table, his gaze trained on the spectacle before him, but seemingly unaffected, however she knew better. Her expert medic eyes detected a bit of tenseness in his posture, quickened breathing, the redness on his cheeks that couldn't be a result of just alcohol – all of it indicated the state of arousal. Looking south, she spied crossed arms resting casually on his thighs, obstructing the view of his, hopefully already stiff, groin. She smirked to herself and shuffled on her knees the short distance to his side.

"Your cup is empty," she observed and filled it with remaining sake from one of the bottles.  
Startled, he have her a guarded look, but she unfailingly noticed a hint of excited anticipation in it.

"Thank you," he said but didn't reach for the sake dish.

"Is there something wrong? Maybe some tension I can relieve?" she glanced down on his covered crotch for a second.

Chouji gulped, his pupils widening at the double meaning conveyed. He downed the alcohol, which burned slightly in his throat, to gather some courage and risked a peek at her expression, knowing his arousal was noticeable under the robe without his hands protecting his modesty. He was too nervous to speak.

"Hmmm... I see there are tense areas in need of a good rub," she purred.

His heart thumped anxiously as she pressed herself into his back, letting him feel the supple curves, then started to massage his shoulders. "You're so stiff," she said teasingly into his ear and kissed the side of his neck. Her hands moved lower, roaming over his impressive chest muscles under the robe. When she twisted his nipples, he hissed, although his excitement grew exponentially. As she lightly skimmed around his soft, fat-padded, yet not flabby stomach, refusing to go lower, he whimpered, bucking up to get her to touch him there.

"You need to let me see first," she murmured and sucked on his earlobe.

Chouji didn't hesitate, his desire ignited and urging him on, any sense of shame promptly forgotten while faced with a promise of a great pleasure. He flung the robe open and pulled his erect member out of the traditional undergarments. Sakura tapped the bulbous head, making it bob and his breath hitch. Moving her arms under his for better access, she gripped it firmly at the base and pumped upwards a few times, stopping briefly to thumb the tip. He released a loud groan, jerking his hips into her grip to aid the movement.

At the sound coming from the other side of the table, Ino looked over, momentarily distracted from her perusal of Shikamaru's torso. She seethed, seeing that Sakura was getting a louder response than her. She needed to beat her!

"Hey, Forehead!" Ino called out. "If you want to test who can please a man better, let's see which one of us can do it faster!"

Sakura smirked over Chouji's shoulder. "You're on, Pig!"

"But... let's make it even more interesting," Ino grinned like a Cheshire cat. "You have to do it using only your mouth."

She issued this particular challenge, knowing that Sakura wasn't too keen on giving oral and in result, had no experience with it. Ino had full confidence in winning this as she didn't feel any disgust for the idea. She watched gleefully as Sakura scrunched her brow in thought.

"Alright, fine! Only mouth!" she agreed not wanting to back down to her rival when she's already accepted the challenge.

She pushed Chouji to the floor and knelt between his legs, while Ino yanked off Shikamaru's clothes aggressively. Both of the guys were fully aroused.

"A-are you sure about this, Sakura?" Chouji asked, not comfortable with her forcing herself to do it for him.

"Yes," she snapped and looked over to Ino. "Ready?"

"Ready! Time start!"

Ino didn't waste a moment and started by sucking on the tip harshly. Shikamaru jerked violently, the electricity shooting across his nerves, so she had to hold him down by his thighs. Ino grinned to herself, immensely pleased with the reactions she was getting and doubled her efforts. She licked all around, thankful he had bathed earlier and had a clean scent tainted only by the strong musk of arousal.

Shikamaru couldn't stop himself from crying out when she literally slurped him down, taking as much as she could in her mouth and furiously swirled her tongue on the tip. All the while she didn't take her blue, sharp eyes from his face, noticing every little twitch and spasm of muscle and making him feel open and vulnerable. Even though she was in the objectively more humiliating position, it was her who had total power over him, not the other way around. He watched with rapture the hypnotic movement of her head as she serviced him, his groans and grunts motivating her to go harder.

Engrossed in the blowjob, Ino wasn't at all prepared for a stream of thick liquid erupting into her mouth and quickly clogging her airways. She pulled away hastily and spat it out to the side, not caring much about what would the inn workers think when they'd have to clean up the room. Turning back to Shikamaru, she saw him release a few more, smaller spurts, which landed on his abdomen and thighs as he jacked off for a complete finish. After that, he just laid down in his mess, spent and already dozing off.

She snorted at this typical Shikamaru behaviour and looked over how Sakura was doing. To Ino's delight, she was still working on Chouji's erection, licking around it methodically as if it was an ice cream cone.

"I've won," Ino chuckled and poured herself some sake, then kicked back to watch her friend's progress.

Sakura didn't hear her, too concentrated on her task, which she wasn't all that enthusiastic about in the first place. The taste wasn't so bad and the feeling of dominance over the writhing male beneath her was a definite plus, however she thought she'd feel more comfortable doing it with someone who actually earned the privilege. Forcibly squashing the irritation, partly caused by the growing itch between her legs, she slithered her tongue down the thick member and experimentally skimmed over the balls with just a tip of it. The jolt of his hips, punctuated by a deep moan, made her aware of the area's special sensitivity. She risked giving it a full, long lick then gently took one ball in her mouth and sucked on it, figuring it wouldn't hurt her jaw as much as trying to cram the wide shaft in the limited space between her lips. The member seemed to harden even more, if it was possible, as she alternated between the balls. Finishing her ministrations there, she licked up its length to smear the clear liquid, seeping from the tiny slit on the tip, around the bright red head.

That last touch to Chouji's weakest spot was what sent him over the edge. Groaning madly, he swung his hips up and released a jet of white, hot seed. Without prior warning, Sakura wasn't able to move out of the way quickly enough and some of it got on her cheek and chin, as the rest splattered on his own body, similarly to what happened with Shikamaru.

Sakura sighed, relieved it was over and wiped off her face with the edge of Chouji's robe, unwilling to dirty her own clothes.

"Nice job, Forehead, though it took you waaay too long. I've finished ages ago," Ino commented triumphantly. "Here, have some booze to wash down the taste. Alcohol is a sanitizer, isn't it?"

Sakura scowled at her, but accepted the drink. She took a large gulp, swished it around in her mouth and swallowed, enjoying the sweet taste.

She rubbed her thighs together, trying to relieve that bothersome itch, but it stubbornly stayed in place, irritating her. Shikamaru looked comatose, besides he was Ino's and therefore off-limits, which left only Chouji, who was staring at the ceiling in wonderment, the unsightly puddle still on his crotch. She threw back the rest of her cup and cleaned the mess off him with the other side of his robe. Ending the preparations, she slipped off her soaked panties and straddled his face.

"Sakura? What are you...?" he asked uncertainly, his voice muffled by her weight on top.

"Shut up and lick me. You need to make it up to me that I had to suck your balls," she growled, grinding into his face.

Having no choice in the matter, Chouji submitted to her will. He hesitantly opened his mouth and gave a tentative lick to the wet slit hanging above him. Though he had virtually no experience, it seemed he did something right, as she pressed down on him as if to get more. He lapped at her folds, not minding the salty stickiness which covered half of his face. At the moment, he was more concerned about not suffocating, as she ground down faster, lightly moaning.

His skills apparently weren't that good, because Sakura found herself only more and more frustrated and impatient. The desire in the pit of her stomach grew, but the lousy oral she was receiving served just to tease her, never even letting her reach a threshold of satisfaction she wanted. With another angry growl, she rose, dislodging herself from Chouji's mouth and leaving him panting for breath. She crawled backwards, until she seated herself on his thighs, then she eyed his member – not entirely flaccid but still far way from its full length. She tugged on it viciously to restore its former state.

"Sakura, wait, it's too much," he protested weakly the rough treatment.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" she asked idly, putting more pressure in her strokes.

"But, S-sakura, I've never done this before," he attempted to reason.

"You haven't?" her eyes gleamed at this piece of news. "Then better pray you can get it up, because I'm. Going. To. Fuck. You." Every word was accompanied by a harsh pump.

Chouji whimpered and groaned, his member filling with blood and stiffening in response to the stimulation.

"Good boy," Sakura praised and positioning herself above his center, smoothly slid onto him, moaning at the stretch. She started a slow pace, getting used to his girth, then her grinds turned steadily harder, as she gyrated her hips, mercilessly milking him for her selfish pleasure.

On the other side of a table, Ino, inspired by Sakura's actions and a bit jealous she didn't think about it first, regarded Shikamaru's limp form with brows furrowed in annoyance. _Why is he always lazing around whenever he's needed for something?_ she thought irritably, her drenched underwear reminding her of the unfulfilled desire in between her legs. _I'm a birthday girl, I deserve getting some too!_

Her mind made up, the blonde took off her panties, taking a moment to rub herself gently to relieve the ache a little. Reluctantly, she pulled her fingers away from her needy lower lips and climbed over Shikamaru on all fours, her face on the level of his semen-stained groin and her knees placed to the sides of his shoulders. _Now, how to wake you up?_ Ino mused with an evil glint in her eyes.

Shikamaru yelped at the pain in his chest, courtesy of a sharp twisting pinch to his right nipple, instantaneously coming to from the peaceful slumber. When his eyelids shot open, he was greeted by the most unexpected and, at the same time, most arousing sight of a toned rump and glistening pink folds crowned by short blond curls. His thoughts whirled, as he recalled what had happened before he went to sleep.

"Ino?" he rasped out.

His scratchy voice and the rapid swelling of his member, which was involuntarily returning to readiness, made her inner muscles clench in desire. How could a man affect her so much without even touching? Ino shook off the stray question and wrapped a hand around his member, his groan making her smirk.

"Shikamaru-kun, look what you did to me," she purred seductively. "You should have the decency to take care of this mess."

He gulped thickly at the shameless wiggle of her bottom above him. And she had the gall to talk about decency? Before his brain caught up with what was happening, she had already lowered herself and he'd obeyed her silent demand, putting his mouth to her flower. Her exquisite scent and taste overwhelmed him, causing him to use all the experience he had gathered from his sole sexual encounter with the Sand kunoichi a few months ago. His lips worked Ino thoroughly, nibbling and sucking, his tongue rubbing in circles the soft petals, as she sighed in pleasure and pumped his shaft idly. When he enveloped her small sensitive nub, she cried out and bucked. Encouraged by her reaction, Shikamaru applied more pressure, massaging the spot carefully with his mouth. To reward him, Ino rubbed his sack and tongued his tip, making it wet and shiny with her saliva.

Shikamaru groaned into her snatch and she pressed down on him. He parted the delicate petals with his hands to have a better access to her entrance, overflowing with clear fluid, which he greedily lapped up. Then, he snaked his tongue inside, eliciting a gasp and all body tremble from Ino, who practically sat down on his face. He had to hold her upper thighs to keep her up and allow himself some space to breathe.

The moaning kunoichi didn't care for much at the moment, all her strength lost to the bliss he evoked in her with every swipe and screw of his clever, slick appendage. She stroked his shaft absently, as he explored her wet depths, moaning when he found a sensitive spot which he took care to touch all the time. She practically rode his face, moaning out throatily as she exploded over him.

Shikamaru didn't stop licking, his mouth stuck to Ino's folds even when she pulled away, parting from her only because he could no longer support his body as he bent to follow her juicy flower. Panting, with her fluids dripping from his chin, he looked at her with disappointment due to her passing-by his painful erection as she crawled away. However, she had in mind a different use for it than a simple rub down.

Ino stayed on her hands and knees and cast at him a heated look over her shoulder, her plush rump swaying alluringly. It seemed to say 'Come and get me', so Shikamaru, unable to ignore the pulsing and throbbing of his manhood, quickly shuffled on his knees behind her and taking her firmly by the hips, drove inside. She cried out, arching her back, but he was so preoccupied with the lack of resistance that he paid it no mind.

Frankly, he didn't know what he was feeling about not being her first – sad, frustrated, maybe resigned? In the end, anger won out and fueled by it, he ruthlessly pounded away into her, his thighs slapping against her cheeks. She didn't complain, moving with him to get more pleasure, what irritated him to the point he reached around her to latch on the full globes of her breasts and squeeze them punishingly. In response, her walls shuddered and clamped onto him tighter.

Ino was enjoying herself for two reasons – the first was that Shikamaru was a really good lover and the second that she was making him do all the work. While normally he avoided putting any effort into anything, she knew he could excel in whatever he truly applied himself to. To her delight, the same rule seemed to take effect in sex. Additionally, it stroked her ego that she was a cause for the way he was thrusting in frenzy, as he brought her closer and closer to final completion.

When he suddenly pulled out of her, she mewled in protest, but he just turned her over and pushed her down on her back, then swiftly reclaimed his spot in her tight sheath. His hands parted her loosened robe and roamed all over her front. He leaned down to lick up the sweat gathered in her deep cleavage and taste the rosy peaks on top of her mounds. Ino wrapped her legs around him, bucking up in time with his thrusts and letting loose a continuous stream of moans as he teased her nipples. Shikamaru propped himself up and the sight of her flushed face contorted in pleasure, the blue eyes glazed over, her mouth open and still untouched, proved too much of a temptation. He claimed her pink lips roughly, plunging his tongue inside, as if he wanted to brand her soul. She was sweet and addictive, like sake, and he couldn't get enough of her taste, not stopping the searing kiss even when her muscles flexed around him as she screamed into his mouth, riding the powerful wave of her orgasm. He joined her almost immediately, eyes screwed shut in utter bliss.

His thrusts turned shallow and finally stopped with the release subsiding, his body turning into a weak boneless heap that rested fully on Ino's sweaty, panting form. The kiss broken, Shikamaru's head laid on the pillow of her bosom as he succumbed to exhaustion after their vigorous coupling.

Ino collected herself slowly, her mind barely wrapping around the fact that the best sex she's ever had was with her lazy teammate. Who could have thought he had so much energy to spare? She lightly chuckled but Shikamaru's dead weight on top of her impeded her breathing. She peered at his face – it was relaxed and...

_That lazy ass fell asleep on me! _she gaped, outraged but too tired and satisfied to muster much of anger at him. Not planning to spend the night crushed under Shikamaru, she rolled him off her on the floor, blushing when his member slipped out, reminding her that he didn't even bother to pull out before sleeping. She decided she would somehow get back at him in the morning.

Ino closed her robe and tied a knot around it, then rejoined Sakura at the table. The medic, having already wrung her desired orgasm out of Chouji, had observed her friend's fun, happy with the success of her scheme. This time it was she who handed Ino a full sake cup.

"To great birthdays," she proposed with a smirk.

"To great birthdays," Ino repeated and drank the whole cup in one swallow. "What now?" she asked, a worry about the changes in the team dynamics this night would bring creeping up on her.

Sakura shrugged. "Now we get them back to bed and have another soak in the hot springs."

"Just like that?" Ino questioned doubtfully.

"They're both out cold. If we act like nothing happened and leave no evidence, they'll think it was just a dream. No worries, Pig," she said nonchalantly.

"If you say so," Ino, though still unsure if it will work, decided to go along with that plan.

When they took their bath, Sakura turned to her with a wicked smile on her face. "By the way, how was Shikamaru? You said you'd never do it with him but from your screams earlier I take you changed your mind."

"Forehead!" Ino yelled at her, mortified.

Sakura laughed.

* * *

Shikamaru woke up with a mother of all headaches. Wincing from the sunlight which was sinking its rays like blades through the eye sockets straight into his pounding skull, he recalled in frightening detail the unbelievable events of the previous night. However, looking around frantically, he found himself in his bedroll in the inn, with Chouji snoring quietly in the other one across the room. With shaking hands, Shikamaru opened his robe to inspect himself but there was no trace of bodily liquids or bite marks on his skin.

He slumped down in relief and a smidgen of disappointment, ready to dismiss it all as a very weird and embarrassing dream, but his brilliant mind wouldn't give it a rest, supplying him with the explanations for how it could really have happened. After all, what was it to heal a small bite for an accomplished medic, which they had two in this team, or to clean him up before tucking him in?

That's why after retying his robe, he stumbled out the room and down the corridor to women's quarters, all the time clutching his head in pain. He slid the door open without knocking and immediately regretted his carelessness.

"Kyaahh! Pervert!" the kunoichis screamed and flung an impressive barrage of weapons at him for daring to intrude on them while they were dressing. Only his fast reaction to drop on the floor saved him from becoming a bloody pincushion. He crawled out and closed the door not looking up, though it didn't erase from his memory the eyeful of creamy, bountiful flesh he's gotten.

Once the women were decent, he was admitted back in.

"What do you want, Shikamaru?" Ino asked irritated, her arms folded together.

He didn't reply, instead raking his eyes over the room for clues of what had transpired in the night, but to no avail. Everything was clean and spotless, the empty sake bottles standing in a neat row and the tableware stacked up on a low table.

"Well?" Ino prompted impatiently.

"My head hurts," he said plainly.

She instructed him to sit down as she rummaged in her pack for pain medicine. She wasn't about to waste her chakra on something that could go away on its own, when they still had some distance to cover to Konoha. Besides, she wanted him to suffer as a punishment for insensitively falling asleep on her.

Shikamaru incidentally sat in the same place as the previous night, glancing around surreptitiously. There was nothing, but... he leaned down, spotting something in the gap of the tatami floor. Some dried up, white substance.

He straightened, congratulating himself on the detective job well done despite the splitting headache. Thanking Ino for the pill, he walked out, not letting her know that he knew.

Shikamaru was a pretty laid-back guy. If the kunoichis wanted to pretend that nothing happened, he had no qualms to oblige their wishes. It was his duty as a comrade to protect them and that included also their feelings.

"What a drag..." Shikamaru sighed, looking up at the clear blue sky through the open window of the men's quarters and lighting a cigarette.

**The End of Chapter 2**

* * *

AN: Thank you for reading and please review! It would mean a lot to me.

In the next chapter, there would be a visit from Suna.

See you next time,

Marquise de Nile


	3. The Bedroom Diplomacy

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Pairings: in the bottom AN to avoid spoilers.

* * *

**Kunoichi Files**

**3. The Bedroom Diplomacy**

Another day, another mission – that is the way of shinobi life. There are too many tasks to be performed and too little time of respite between them, not to mention personal training to maintain their skills sharp, that shinobi just can't afford to agonize over the missions of the past. If there are any issues concerning the completed assignments, usually they are tucked away into a little box in the back of mind, meaning that they are to be dealt with at a later date. Nothing should take a ninja's attention off the present time. All distractions should be disposed of, leaving a clear head capable of coming up with efficient ways to do the job.

When Ino and Sakura were summoned to Hokage's office in the early morning the next day after they had come back from the escort mission to Earth Country, they were both still half-awake, as they didn't expect a new assignment so soon. Usually, they had at least a day off to recuperate before resuming their duties in village's service. Sakura spied a glance at Ino, who was rubbing her eyes tiredly and looked none the wiser about the reason for which they were summoned. The medic self-consciously patted down her hair, envious that her friend found the time to brush her long blonde locks, while she herself sported a rather unflattering pink bedhead.

Sakura turned her attention to Hokage and straightened her spine, ready to receive her new assignment, whatever it would be, and carry it out with pride as a kunoichi of the Leaf.

"Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, I've chosen you both for an A-rank mission," Tsunade informed them in her official tone, her chin resting on the intertwined fingers, elbows propped on the desk perpendicularly.

The young kunoichis shared a baffled look. It was unheard of to have two chunins on a mission of such importance. There was a reason the A-ranks were reserved for jonins, and it was because they were above all dangerous and their success crucial to the village. In these missions, there was simply no room for mistakes and while both Ino and Sakura were talented kunoichis in their own right, they weren't yet prepared to undertake such serious tasks, their youth and relative inexperience being the main impediment.

Tsunade chuckled at their bewildered expressions. "Ah, don't fret, you two, it's not that bad. You won't be even leaving Konoha for this," she paused to drink some of her hot coffee from the cup on top of the daily paperwork stack, enjoying how her subordinates were hanging onto her every word. Sakura hid a pout threatening to emerge at her shishou withholding the information for the sole amusement of watching them squirm.

"What is the mission, Hokage-sama?" inquired Ino respectfully, all traces of drowsiness gone, replaced by the focused look on her face.

"Tomorrow Kazekage and his entourage will arrive in Konoha for three-day long diplomatic talks. Your mission is to escort him around for the duration of his stay. Above all, you two will make sure everything is to his liking. You need to keep him satisfied, by any means necessary. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Tsunade regarded the kunoichis, who blanched at the implication held in her words.

"Shishou... do you mean that we will have to... sleep with the Kazekage?" Sakura asked uncertainly, hoping her mentor would deny it.

"If it keeps him happy, then yes," Tsunade crushed her hope nonchalantly and took a careful sip from the cup. "And girls, don't act so coy. I am the Hokage and I do have access to your medical records. I know for a fact you're no blushing virgins, so cut it out. Why do you think I've chosen you two for this mission?"

"Hokage-sama!..."

"Shishou, it's not like that!..."

As if to contradict her claim, Ino and Sakura sputtered, their faces flaming red, embarrassed at being called out about their experience in the bedroom. However, they knew they shouldn't be so surprised. Tsunade might have her vices but nothing really went past her unnoticed.

Their leader regarded them with amusement, a slight smile curving her lips.

"I'm not going to ask what you did to guarantee such a reaction," she started and the kunoichis breathed out in obvious relief, "but I guess it must have been something very naughty." She winked suggestively and chuckled at their wide-eyed expressions of utter mortification. Precious rare moments like these were why she still didn't quit the job.

As much fun as she had when tormenting her subordinates, she had to move on with her day. The paperwork wasn't going to fill itself out, sadly.

"Sakura, Ino – ensure that Kazekage has a comfortable stay in Konoha, that's all there is to it. I'm certain you two can do it without a problem. Do you accept this mission?"

The kunoichis shared a look, identical confident smirks emerging on their faces as they turned to their leader.

"We accept, Hokage-sama," they replied, no trace of hesitation in their voices.

Tsunade smiled, pleased with their steel resolve.

"Alright. Sakura will act as a team leader," she handed the mission scroll to her apprentice, who took it with a nod. "Go to the diplomatic corps bureau and take care of preparations. Dismissed," Tsunade gave her final instructions.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the kunoichis bowed and left the office. They had much to do and little time to spare.

The day went by quickly, hectic with making all the necessary arrangements – readying the best lodgings for Suna delegates, planning for any entertainment activities they may want to partake in after the official talks and plain running errands around the village. Understandably, the kunoichis were on their last legs when they finally plopped down at the table in the Hokage tower's cafeteria for a late evening meal.

"No dango?" Ino raised an eyebrow at Sakura's choice of food – miso soup, white rice and a piece of grilled fish.

"I'm not in a mood for sweets," she answered and rubbed her temple tiredly, hoping to stave off the migraine she felt coming.

"If your head hurts, just heal it," Ino advised.

Sakura waved off the suggestion. "No, I need to conserve chakra. It'll go away by itself." She winced as a stab of pain drilled mercilessly through her skull.

Something warm suddenly pressed to her forehead and she relaxed into the gentle touch as a healing chakra flowed into her head and soothed the persistent ache.

"There, all done," Ino took her hand away and smiled.

Sakura returned it. "Thanks, Ino."

"I can't have my oh-the-great team leader suffering," the blonde quipped and took a bite of her chicken salad.

The kunoichis ate at a moderate pace, enjoying their free time while it lasted. They knew the next day, when Suna delegation will arrive, would be even more nerve-wracking, especially with the mission specifics Tsunade gave them hanging over their heads like executioner's axe, ready to fall.

"Why did Tsunade-sama choose us? There were no other kunoichi suitable for the job?" Ino groused.

"Well, I'm Hokage's apprentice and you're Yamanaka head's daughter. Anything less would be disrespectful to Kazekage. Besides, we're both his age," Sakura reasoned calmly.

"Doesn't mean she couldn't find someone else for the job," Ino muttered rebelliously.

Sakura shot her a taxing look. "What is it, Ino? What's really bothering you about it?" she asked perceptively.

The blonde sighed. "Not 'what'. Who."

"Kazekage? You don't have to worry, he's on our side."

"I'm not afraid of him or anything!" Ino exploded. "He's just freaking me out! When I think about him, all I see is that crazy, bloodthirsty kid who almost killed Lee! Almost destroyed Konoha!" she caught herself and averted her eyes to the ground, ashamed of her outburst.

Sakura stood up, walked around the table and embraced her friend gently, not caring if anyone was looking. At this late time cafeteria was a solitary place as most people have already eaten or were still on duty.

"Almost, Ino, it didn't happen. And after that he became Naruto's friend and our ally. He and his siblings saved Lee, Chouji, Shikamaru and others when they went after Sasuke. Remember?" she said reassuringly.

Ino nodded, visibly calming down.

"And he's not even a Jinchuuriki anymore. His whole village loves him now and they have a lot more reasons to be afraid of him, right?"

"Yeah," came a soft reply.

They stayed like that for a short while, Ino's head pressed to Sakura's stomach as she was wrapped in the comforting hug. The moment ended when the blonde disentangled herself from the hold.

"Thanks, Sakura," she sent her friend a small smile.

"Any day," Sakura returned it affectionately and went back to her seat.

"But I still think he's freaky," Ino stated unexpectedly.

The medic looked at her questioningly.

"Come on, he doesn't have eyebrows! How is that not freaky?"

The women burst out laughing so hard, they were soon clutching their stomachs and wheezing for breath, all strength leaving their bodies due the uncontrollable spasms of muscles as they guffawed heartily.

"I don't know, Ino, I don't know," Sakura replied, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes, after they finally calmed down from their fit of laughter. "But isn't it better that he doesn't have eyebrows than if he..." she sniggered, "... if he had big, bushy eyebrows like Lee?"

The conjured image of Gaara with such flamboyant eyebrows was too hilarious for the kunoichis, this time sending them chortling down onto the tabletop in another paroxysm of laughter.

* * *

Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage of Suna, was a no-nonsense kind of a man. From a young age he had been taught how to keep his emotions in check in order to suppress the demon he'd been a host to. However, bottling his feelings up inside, mostly the negative ones, hadn't been the best solution as it had made him all the more volatile whenever he had snapped, which usually had ended in a bloodbath. He had thought it impossible to control the killing urges – until he'd met Uzumaki Naruto, a fellow Jinchuuriki. Naruto had taught him the value of friendship and bonds, which had given him a reason to change, the strength to fight off the seductive whispers of his demon.

Now, free from its malevolent influence after the forceful extraction by the Akatsuki, Gaara found it only natural to keep his stoicism as a habit. Expressing emotions by the way of showing it with his actions and motivations came to him easier than just speaking of them or changing facial expressions. Also, knowing that he had a full control over his mental state, that it could never again be comprised or swayed was a relief in itself and he intended it to stay that way.

Two voices brought him back from his inner musings.

"So, soon you'll get to see your boyfriend! Aren't you excited, Temari?"

"Shut up, Kankuro. And he's not my boyfriend," came an aggravated reply.

Kankuro feigned a shocked gasp. "Don't tell me you're on the next level already?! That's so bold of you. Aren't you moving too fast?"

"That's it!" she snapped. A sharp whack and a wail of pain scared a way birds from a nearby trees.

Gaara glanced at his two bodyguards and also, coincidentally, his older siblings – Kankuro and Temari. It seemed that he was born so that his down-to-earth nature would balance out their nonsensical behaviour. For some unfathomable reason to him, all the way from Suna Kankuro was bent on teasing their sister about her love life, claiming that she wanted to accompany them to Konoha just to see her supposed boyfriend. Gaara failed to see how it was any of Kankuro's business and why he was so insistent on pursuing this matter when it only earned him Temari's wrath and frequent whacks on the head with her fan. At first vaguely entertaining, it's already grown repetitive and boring to watch.

Nevertheless, it was time to bring some semblance of decorum to their group, as he saw the gates of Konoha in the distance.

"Kankuro, Temari," he spoke their names in his usual, low tone and as always it was enough to bring them to heel.

Two silhouettes were looming in the open gates, indiscernible due to the sun positioned behind them, but soon they became easily recognizable to the Suna delegation. The pink hair of the Hokage's apprentice was unmistakable and as for her blonde companion, she was also known to them all from the Chunin Exams in Konoha.

On their side, the two kunoichis had an easier time in spotting the Kazekage's entourage. Both of them had donned their freshly-pressed mission clothes, though their shirts were left a little unzipped to show a hint of cleavage. The kunoichis also wore a subtle make-up to accentuate their features just for this occasion.

Ino's calm and smooth, if a little too serious expression belied any lingering doubts she may have had about this mission's objective. Sakura cast a quick once-over her way and decided to have faith in Ino's ability to cope with her feelings. Kami knew she was so much better at this than the medic.

"Welcome to Konoha, Kazekage-sama, Temari-san, Kankuro-san," they greeted, bowing formally. "We trust your travel went well?" Sakura asked.

When Gaara wasn't forthcoming with a reply as the purpose of small talk was lost on him, Temari hurried to answer. "Yes, we didn't encounter any problems on the way here."

The kunoichis then escorted the trio to their quarters so they could refresh themselves before beginning the diplomatic talks with the Hokage.

As expected, the time spent in the conference room was drawn out and mentally exhausting, despite the comfortable chairs and cool beverages provided. However, it couldn't have been helped, as the matters discussed concerned the prime security threat to both of the villages – Akatsuki. Suna's network had found evidence of the criminal organization's presence in Rain Country and requested Konoha's aid in the investigation, mainly due to the closed borders of that country and lesser effectiveness of Suna's ninja in such a wet climate. Konoha's participation was paramount for the success of the infiltration and information extraction in Rain Country.

Sakura and Ino waited outside the conference room so they could show the Suna delegation to the dining room, where a feast of the best delicacies was prepared for their guests. What they didn't count on was a third party's interference. Ino drew up and tensed when her teammate emerged from the room at Temari's side.

"What are you doing here, Shikamaru?" she asked, thankfully restraining herself from raising her voice needlessly.

He sighed. "I'm helping my dad with these troublesome talks. And you?"

"Escorting Kazekage-sama and his entourage."

"I was just inviting Shikamaru to eat with us. It won't be a problem?" Temari put a word in.

"Not at all," Ino answered with a smile, though Shikamaru immediately detected the fakeness in it.

During the dinner, the blonde inwardly seethed while outwards she exhibited a serene facade of a perfect hostess. She didn't like the way Temari looked at her lazy teammate. Ino's hawk eyes noticed everything – every flirtatious smile, innocent batting of thick eyelashes, not-so-accidental brushes of Temari's thigh against his. What was even worse – Shikamaru returned the interest. Though he didn't do anything out of ordinary, Ino knew him too well not to see how he paid attention to the Suna kunoichi's every word and gesture, his dark, intelligent eyes never leaving her face in utter focus when she talked. A hot knife of envy was stabbed into Ino's gut, making her feel sick to her stomach.

The calm facade she carefully built didn't fool Sakura for a second. Under the excuse of getting fresh plates from the kitchen, she took her distraught friend to the side.

"Ino, are you alright?" she asked, not hiding her concern.

"Just fine," the blonde lied through clenched teeth unconvincingly.

Sakura gave her a look but refrained from commenting. She had an inkling what it was really about.

"Just keep it together," she instructed. "Remember the mission."

Ino nodded in affirmative.

They went back to serving their guests and engaging them in a meaningless conversation, though the only one who actually participated was Kankuro, as Temari was engrossed in her own discussion with Shikamaru and Gaara responded rarely, mostly in monosyllables. His seriousness was making the kunoichis uneasy. It didn't look like he was having a good time and that would constitute as the failure of their mission if they didn't do something to change it.

The next stop for the evening were the local hot springs, which were booked for a few hours for the sole use of the Suna delegation. Kankuro and Temari reacted to the news with much enthusiasm. Suna didn't have natural hot springs, being located in the middle of a desert, so it was a huge attraction for them. Gaara didn't express anything, but his lack of protest was as good as an agreement to this arrangement.

Shikamaru quietly excused himself after Temari had whispered something in his ear, something which had made him slightly redden, to Ino's silent displeasure. The blonde stopped the Suna kunoichi from leaving the room after the others by grabbing her wrist.

"I know what you're trying to do," Ino announced coldly.

"And what that would be?" Temari asked disinterestedly as she pulled her hand free from the grasp.

"You're trying to seduce Shikamaru."

Temari looked her up and down and smirked. "I could say the same about you."

"W-what?" Ino faltered.

"You're trying to seduce my brother with these clothes and make-up, but believe me – between the two of us, only one will succeed and it's not you. Better kunoichis than you tried to win Gaara over, so just give up, you have no chance."

Ino regained her equilibrium. "Care to repeat that?" she asked cockily, laying her hands on her hips.

"You. Have. No. Chance. Whatsoever," Temari pronounced slowly to get her point across but instead it only served to ignite Ino's competitive streak.

"We'll see," she turned on her heel to leave but couldn't resist to have the last word. "And for the record, there's no way Shikamaru would sleep with you, it'd be too troublesome for him."

"That's interesting, because he already did," Temari's smug response almost stopped Ino in her tracks, however her stubborn pride disallowed her to give in and show any weakness to be exploited.

_I'll show her! She'll eat her words!_ Ino vowed to herself, clenching her fists so tightly, that her practical, short-clipped nails left crescent marks in the skin. She picked up her pace to catch up with Sakura and the rest heading for hot springs. She needed to talk with her mission leader.

* * *

The steam rose off the gleaming surface of the pool, its curly wisps so thick they effectively obscured two occupants of the hot spring, who relaxed carefreely in the mineral-rich water, finally unburdened after the long day. Kankuro sighed, enjoying the warmth enveloping his strained muscles. For anyone hailing from the desert village, being immersed in a bath was the most decadent of all luxuries, a privilege for the most wealthy people of the highest social standing. He had trouble wrapping his head around the fact that here, in Konoha, it was a commodity as Fire Country was abundant in water resources, unlike his homeland.

He wondered how something so simple can bring so much pleasure in life. Konoha truly knew how to be hospitable to its guests. Delicious food, hot bath, sumptuous suites – for now their every need and wish, even unvoiced, was met with astonishing swiftness. Kankuro imagined what he'd like to do next and smirked – that was also already taken care of, presuming by the presence of their two lovely escorts in the neighbouring bath.

It was certainly good to be a diplomat, he concluded.

When he finally found in his indolent self the will to leave the water and collect the prize of the night he believed to be waiting for him just to ask, he glanced at his silent brother. Gaara really didn't know how to have fun and Kankuro, being in such a good mood, decided to give him a hand for once.

"Hey, Gaara, you won't mind if I borrow one of our escorts for the night?"

"Do whatever you wish." Kazekage didn't even open his eyes, choosing to continue his meditation or whatever it was he was doing, sitting submerged in the pool. Kankuro wasn't sure and didn't really care.

"You know, you should ask that blonde girl for a massage, I've heard it's customary for Konoha's guests to get one." His smirk was positively wicked, but of course Gaara couldn't see it.

"Not interested."

"Well, that's a shame, as the Kazekage you should be a gracious guest. Refusing your hosts is in a bad taste, you know."

"Alright," Gaara conceded after a short consideration.

_Gotcha!_ Kankuro thought triumphantly.

"I'm going. Night, Gaara," he left the pool, wrapping the towel around his hips and headed for the changing room. Now for the step two of his plan...

To his slight surprise, he found both of the women in the main hall of the building, already waiting. He thought they would take advantage of the opportunity and soak a little longer. Apparently he miscalculated their dedication to their duty. All the better for him, as it actually increased the chances everything would go as planned.

"Kankuro-san! You're already finished?" exclaimed Sakura right upon noticing him. "Was the water to your liking? Did something disturb you?"

"No, nothing like that, the water was great," he reassured her worries, thinking that she looked adorable with that scrunched brow. Her expression smoothed out. "I'm a practical desert man, so I don't take long time to wash up. Besides, sitting still isn't my idea of fun." He gave her an intense look and saw the light dusting of blush on her cheeks. He forewent applying his face-paint, as it was good for intimidation tactics in a battle – but it wasn't required in the kind of battle he was hoping to engage her in by the end of the night.

At eighteen, there was nothing left of the boy in him. Kankuro possessed the rugged manly looks – square jaw, broad shoulders, narrow waist. Along with the respected status of jonin and being Kazekage's brother, it made him the second most desirable bachelor in Suna, placed right behind Gaara. If there was anything he lacked, it sure wasn't confidence in his ability to woo a woman.

"Sakura-san," he leaned down to her, all the while maintaining eye-contact. "I don't know Konoha that well. Do you know any good place where we could go for drinks?"

Her eyes didn't glaze over like with most other women he had tried this on, though her blush deepened. She gave him a scrutinizing look and, having weighed something in her mind, nodded.

"I know just a place. Hold on for a moment, I need a quick word with Ino."

"Me too. It's about Gaara," he said quickly.

Sakura waved her friend over.

"What is it, Sakura?" the blonde asked, though judging by the knowing glance she gave them both, she didn't miss their earlier interaction.

"I'm going to escort Kankuro-san for the rest of the evening. You'll be attending to Kazekage-sama by yourself, is that alright with you?" Sakura asked in a serious tone, all the while aware that was exactly what Ino wanted – an opportunity to be alone with their esteemed guest.

"Yes, no need to worry. Kazekage-sama will be in good hands," Ino assured them.

"Gaara has a request for you, Ino-san," Kankuro informed her. When she looked at him questioningly, he elaborated. "He wondered if you could give him a massage. But, he has very specific requirements." The puppeteer leaned to whisper into her ear, "He wants a full body massage, with oils and he'd prefer if you were less clothed. Could you do it?" Kankuro straightened out.

"Yeah, it's no problem," Ino responded evenly, ignoring Sakura's puzzled look. The blonde bit her cheek to stop herself from smirking. "You two can go, I'll handle everything."

She waved to them as they left the bathhouse. Then she quickly dispatched a shadow clone to get the massage oil and other things and deliver them to the Kazekage's suite as she waited for the man to emerge from his bath. She couldn't believe her luck. With that request she was more than certain she would win the challenge issued by Temari.

She frowned. On the other hand, she would have to be alone with the Kazekage. While Sakura had successfully assuaged her doubts the previous day, Ino found the man off-putting and uncommunicative. He was the type she disliked the most, the antisocial one. But, she resolved to herself, she would do whatever it takes to crack his stoic demeanor and fulfill her mission. After all, it can't be impossible if he requested the massage himself.

With a new conviction, Ino seated herself on a bench. She didn't even bat an eye when Temari came out from the women's changing room and giving her a sardonic smile, strode out.

Ino didn't need to respond to the provocation to prove that victory was hers.

Around twenty minutes later, locked in the luxurious white-tiled bathroom adjacent to the Kazekage's room, she wasn't so sure of herself. Under the focused scrutiny of his inexpressive teal eyes even the simple task of lighting up the candles and putting on the relaxation music on the cassette player to create an intimate, soothing atmosphere had been positively nerve-wracking. After instructing him to undress for the massage and lay on the bed, which had been covered with a white sheet, so the covers wouldn't be stained by the oil, she had fled to the bathroom to change.

Ino looked into the large mirror hanging above the washbasin she was bracing herself against. She was almost hyperventilating from nervousness, her doubts about Gaara once again surfacing to the forefront of her mind. Her impression of him being stoic and unapproachable didn't help with putting her at ease.

The kunoichi tightened her grip on the porcelain edge and looked into the mirror, staring in her reflections blue eyes. _I can do it!_ she thought determinedly, fighting off the paralyzing uncertainty. She steadied her breathing and after smoothing out her long hair, twisted in a neat bun at the back of her head, turned to the door, psyching herself up for the daunting challenge of seducing the stone-faced man that awaited her behind the flimsy wooden frame.

In the beginning, Gaara was rather skeptical about the massage. The blonde kunoichi seemed too skittish around him, he could tell it no matter how hard she tried to hide her unease. He took it in stride, so used to people being unsettled by him that he didn't pay it any mind. However, when she disappeared in the bathroom, having left him with instructions to undress, he followed them, even if only because of his sensibility to accept Konoha's traditions.

Neatly folding his red desert robes on the chair, Gaara wrapped a small white towel around his hips for preserving his modesty and laid on his stomach in the middle of the cushy king-sized bed. The soft, cotton white sheet put on it provided an interesting, pleasant sensation against his naked skin, while the sounds of ocean waves coming from the cassette had a calming effect on his mind. The room was dimly lit by the candles and he would have probably been lulled to sleep if he was left alone for any longer. Actually, Gaara wouldn't have terribly minded if the kunoichi didn't come out of the bathroom. Even though he was now free of Shukaku's influence and could sleep as much as he wanted, he was so accustomed to not sleeping, he rarely ever caught a wink at night. Now, peaceful and relaxed, laying in the impossibly comfortable bed, he felt as if he could nap all night long.

The sound of the bathroom door opening made him turn his head to look over there. Ino strutted out confidently and all thoughts of sleep promptly vanished from his mind.

Gaara's eyes widened in shock.

_What is she wearing?_ he wondered, drinking in the sight of the perfectly formed womanly body, the soft looking, lightly tanned skin mostly naked, only the most essential places hidden beneath the skimpy blue scraps of clothing which still left nothing much to the imagination. Gaara's eyes inadvertently roamed over the gentle curves and dips which made up a true beauty of a nature. It was the first time in his whole life he saw an almost nude woman and his curiosity in the opposite sex, until now practically non-existent, awakened with a raging vengeance.

Ino smirked and inwardly cheered, spotting right away that despite the poker face he was keeping on, his gaze didn't stray away from her magnificent body for a single moment since landing on it. She just knew that wearing that scandalously small triangle bikini her father would have a heart attack if he ever saw it would pay off immensely.

Giving Gaara a winning smile, the blonde sashayed seductively to the bed, then she picked the bottle of massage oil from the bedside table and crawled on the mattress to straddle his back. She didn't sit on him, he was still the Kazekage and she needed to first make him comfortable and at ease with her touch before establishing a closer contact between them, so she just hovered on her knees above the aesthetically pleasing musculature that she was about to familiarize herself with very, very soon.

Gaara felt strangely vulnerable, despite knowing that the kunoichi didn't mean him any threat and even if she did, she wouldn't have been able to harm him, but also he found himself intrigued. The slight, grazing touch of her legs against his sides felt certainly more suggestive than it should. Gaara closed his eyes, mildly irked by the distracting, illogical thoughts the woman sparked in him.

Ino's small hands rested on his shoulders and he tensed instinctively.

"Relax, Kazekage-sama," she whispered.

He nodded slowly and she traced lines and circles around his upper back with just her finger pads, so he would get used to her touch. It was surprisingly soft and warm.

"You can call me by my name," he said quietly. At this moment, he saw no need to stay strictly formal.

Ino brightened up, pleased that he was the one who offered this piece of familiarity between them. It would make her job much easier.

"Of course, Gaara-sama," she spoke softly. "You can call me Ino," she returned the gesture.

They didn't speak any more. Ino squeezed out the massage oil on her cupped hands, then started applying it to Gaara's back with long vertical strokes. The intense scent of lavender surrounded the two of them. Gaara inhaled deeply, finding the smell pleasant, his senses galvanized. He felt acutely the way Ino's small hands worked their magic on his slippery flesh, gliding up and down with varied pressure and kneading the knots and kinks in the muscles until the tension dissolved completely, replaced by a limp, relaxed feeling. Gaara didn't outright moan from the relief brought by the kunoichi's skillful massage but he also didn't bother to keep in the soft sighs of contentment, which was an already big step, showing just how much his guard was lowered.

Ino's hands glided up to gently stroke and rub his neck, paying special attention to the areas halfway up to his ears. She knew from both her kunoichi classes and medic studies that massaging there helped to encourage the body to flush out the toxins accumulated inside and dispel the stress through activities of a more passionate nature. Ino was counting on the latter effect of her ministrations.

Moving away from Gaara's neck, she massaged both of his arms with a wringing motion. She noticed that while not too bulky, he possessed a very nicely defined biceps to complement his strong shoulder and back muscles. Ino guessed that carrying around that heavy gourd with sand must have contributed to such a body development and had to stifle a soft giggle at this silly thought.

Gaara heard the rustle as kunoichi's warm palms pulled away from his skin and he felt her shift backwards.

"What are you doing?" he asked, perplexed why she would stop so suddenly.

"I'm just going to massage your legs, Gaara-sama, if that's alright with you?" Ino replied.

"Go on," Gaara told her and closed his eyes. He didn't want to admit it but it seemed that for once Kankuro was right about something. This massage was too enjoyable to be ended so quickly.

The blonde looked at his legs and bit her lips, then coming to a decision, started from his calves up, forgoing the feet. She didn't want to risk tickling him and ruining the sensual mood she was trying to get him into, even though Gaara didn't seem the ticklish type, not having reacted when she had grazed his sides or at times touched too close to his armpits. After coating the pale skin with the oil, she proceeded to rub firm circles and pluck at the flesh, loosening the leg muscles.

As Ino moved up the Kazekage's legs, her curious gaze strayed to the white towel wrapped around his hips. With Gaara so calm and docile as she touched his body wherever she wished, even if it was just to service him, she grew more and more comfortable around him. All the fears were forgotten as her confidence increased, causing the heated fantasies of what might be hidden under the man's towel to pop up in her mind. A light blush appeared on her cheeks as her hands started kneading the backs of his strong thighs, getting closer with every swipe to the edge of the towel. Feeling a bit frisky, Ino dared to slightly caress them on the inside under the guise of a massage.

A jolt went through Gaara at the sensation brought to him by Ino's not-so-innocent touch but he didn't tell her to stop, too baffled with his own body's unexpected reaction to utter a word of complaint. Before he recollected his thoughts, Ino finished with his legs and moved above him. After brushing the red locks away from his ear she bent to him, letting the tops of her breasts lightly skim over his back, and whispered, "Please turn on your back, Gaara-sama."

For a moment, he didn't move contemplating the strangely irritating feeling on his back. Why was it irritating him, he didn't exactly know, so he opted to simply ignore the minor annoyance. The woman pulled back, allowing him to roll his body over. The first thing his teal eyes noticed was her impressive cleavage forming a deep crevice between the two mounds covered in blue triangles of material.

Ino would have been blind not to see where he was blatantly staring but she didn't say anything as it was exactly the reaction she wanted to coax from the stoic man. Reaching for the oil bottle, she squeezed out some of it directly in the middle of his not ripped, but still very nicely defined pectorals, then started spreading the liquid evenly all over his front side musculature, rubbing it in and grinding her palms into the flesh.

With the rhythmic, steady movement of Ino's arms and back when she used her body weight to increase the pressure of her strokes, her perky bust swayed hypnotically before Gaara's curious eyes. For some unknown to him reason he felt a developing twitch in his hands as if they wanted to grab something but instead got only air. He clasped the sheet tightly, balling them into fists but the strange urge persisted, adding to Gaara's confusion. It was as if his body was trying to tell him something but he couldn't understand what it was.

He was temporarily distracted from his inner musings when Ino's fingers traced symmetrical circles around his nipples, then rubbed them slickly, causing an electric charge to zap from the surprisingly sensitive area all the way down his spine. Gaara gasped quietly and looked wide-eyed at the woman who was responsible for such an incredible sensation. The blonde sported a mischievous grin on her face as she tweaked his flat nubs and her smile only grew bigger when his gaze dropped to the two distinct protuberances pressed from the inside of her bikini top.

Ino's left hand wandered down his body in a more sensual than just massaging manner, stroking the washboard abs and dipping into the bellybutton playfully. The look he was giving her, a look of a curious, still not fully realized desire mixed with a touch of confusion felt empowering. From that expression alone she could have surmised that he didn't have any previous sexual experience, if she hadn't already known it from his sister. The fact that she was most probably the first woman who got that far with Gaara filled her with a rush of heady excitement.

"Ino-san?" Gaara finally found his voice, though the question wasn't uttered with his usual cool confidence but rather with uncertainty and puzzlement at her actions.

In that moment, as he was laying beneath her, his chiseled muscles gleaming in the soft glow cast by the candles, his teal eyes looking at her with adorable confusion, as he patiently waited for some sort of explanation, he wasn't the insane monster or the venerated Kazekage. He was just an attractive young man whom she planned to give the best time of his life. Ino licked her lips and smiled predatorily. She knew she would thoroughly enjoy this night.

"Gaara-sama," she purred, cupping her breasts, "would you like to touch me here?"

He stared at her in surprise for a moment, so she decided to encourage him a little more. "You seem interested and I really don't mind if you want to," she gave herself a squeeze, pleased that his eyes were riveted to the provocative sight.

Of their own free will, his hands raised in the air and latched onto Ino's bountiful bosom.

"So soft..." he blurted out, gently feeling the round, warm flesh through the skimpy bikini top. His touches grew more bold as he molded the breasts in his hands. His eyes caught a rosy nipple peeking out of the edge of material, which has moved to the side, and he experimentally rubbed and rolled the small nub between his fingers. Ino let out a small, pleasured moan, then reached behind to untie the strings of her bikini. She took the blue garment off and put it on the bed next to them, granting Gaara the unabashed view of her exposed chest.

The young Kazekage took in the lovely sight of a topless, beautiful woman, his pulse racing in his veins. His hands, however, were steady when he examined the creamy mounds, applying varying pressure and rubbing them. He liked the sound of Ino's breathy moans and sighs, so he paid special attention to the hardened nipples which seemed to get him the best response from her.

"There's no milk," he remarked with a hint of disappointment. He heard that women breastfed their children but he had never witnessed the act. He knew for a fact that he had been fed only from a bottle as a child and he admitted that now he was slightly curious about the natural process.

Ino's eyes gleamed. "Maybe you should try sucking on them, Gaara-sama," she proposed.

He nodded at the idea and propped himself on elbows, his lips closing on a stiff nub. Ino gave out a prolonged moan, her insides quivering and melting at the pleasure of his warm mouth gently suckling on her sensitive nipple. She cooed and shuddered when his tongue brushed and swirled around it in an attempt to draw out milk. Seeing that there was no sweet drink in one breast, Gaara moved onto the other one, squeezing it in time with the sucking. Finally, he pulled his mouth away, scrunching his brow in confusion.

"It doesn't work," he stated, perplexed and Ino giggled at his naivety.

"Well, I'm not pregnant, so my body doesn't produce milk," she explained. "You don't know much about women, do you?"

He seemed a bit peeved at his ignorance of the subject, so she decided to steer the conversation away from it. "Don't worry, I'll show you everything you need to know, Gaara-sama," she said, her voice turning sultry when she spoke his name.

Instead of hovering above him, she was now comfortably seated on his stomach and Gaara acutely felt the scorching heat emanating from the secret place between her slim legs. If her words weren't self-explanatory enough, she ground her hips on his crotch and gasped as she became aware of the inconspicuous hardness which has formed there during their earlier activities.

"I have knowledge of sex," Gaara declared seriously, but she detected a hint of irritation in his gaze.

Ino couldn't stop herself from giggling. If not for his grave voice, she would have glomped him.

"Of course, but it's like throwing shuriken or using jutsus – merely knowing the theory behind it won't make you an expert, you need to practice," she explained.

Gaara nodded, unable to disagree with the irrefutable logic in her statement.

"Well, then, first lesson would be..." Ino bent down and whispered huskily, "... kissing," before she pressed her moist, plump lips against his thin ones. Gaara shivered, finding the contact astonishingly pleasant and pulled her closer by the back of her head. She was now laying on him, her graceful curves molded against his body, as she licked and nibbled on his bottom lip. Gaara curiously granted her entrance, allowing the kunoichi to deepen their kiss. The movement of their lips and tongues became slow and languid as she patiently taught her eager apprentice all there was to know about the art of kissing.

When they parted, breathing heavily, their eyes half-lidded from the passion they've just shared, Gaara wasn't thinking any more, too consumed by the emerging desire in his loins to consider the consequences of his actions. There was only heat and want demanding to be fulfilled and the woman so deliciously pressed to him was going to be the instrument of his fulfillment.

Ino caught his gaze and was taken aback by the dark intensity conveyed in it as he regarded her with these new, lustful eyes, however her own body answered his yearning, prompting her to move and relieve them both. Before he could make a move to take control of the situation, the headstrong kunoichi slid down his body, purposefully brushing her behind against the protruding erection, then with a single decisive yank removed the towel which has been obstructing her view of Gaara's nether regions. Only then did she break the eye-contact between them and surveyed the goods, licking her lips in appreciation as her hand closed over the bright red tip of the hard member and stroked down to the base, eliciting a delighted shudder and a startled moan from the young man.

Ino smirked victoriously. She had him literally and metaphorically in the palm of her hand. After giving a few strong pumps, she descended her lips upon him, engulfing the tip in a wet warmth, her agile tongue teasing the slit in the center. Her eyes however didn't stray from his face, even as she went down, taking more of the straining shaft in her mouth.

To Gaara, it seemed that his senses were going haywire, the mad thudding of his pulse deafening him due to the visual stimulation of the beautiful blonde doing something so... so... wonderfully indecent but it felt so good, much better than the cloggy excitement when he had still considered human slaughter as the best source of entertainment. The pleasures of flesh, previously never even considered by him as an acceptable way of outlet, now made him feel alive in a new way he had never experienced before.

And then Ino started sucking on his manhood like on a piece of a very tasty candy, while her hand sneaked down to cup and rub his tender ballsack. Gaara groaned deeply and thrusted his hips up, arching up off the bed in the attempt to fit even more of his bulging erection inside her glorious cavern. His fun was cut short when she released the hardened shaft from her mouth with an audible pop and he sent her a chilling glare that she dared to stop, however she just smiled cheekily, unaffected.

"I thought you'd like it more if I did this, Gaara-sama," she purred, putting the swollen member between her breasts, smothering it in their exquisite softness. She began a steady pace, rubbing and squeezing the saliva-soaked pole.

He could only groan at the blissful sensations and attempt to aid her in the movements by rolling up his hips. To increase the sliding, Ino once again took the oil bottle and poured a large helping of the substance onto her cleavage. It certainly made her job easier, she noted as she keenly watched Gaara's reactions to her ministrations. His desire-laden gaze resting on the erotic sight of her servicing him, the raspy groans emitting from his throat and the growing urgency in his pelvis thrusts were all a dead give away of his state. This wasn't a first time she pleasured a man with her breasts, she was prone to experiment and Sai more than willing to oblige, so she knew that the Kazekage was getting very close to the climax.

Just as she thought, in the next couple of seconds he released with a grunt and the milky white substance splashed on her breasts, mixing with the clear oil. Ino pumped his shaft to ensure that he was done, then gently released the now limp organ and let it rest on Gaara's abdomen. Ignoring her own unfulfilled desire, which soaked through her bikini bottoms, the kunoichi crawled off the bed, intending to go wash up.

Gaara was breathing heavily, his thoughts disjointed and unfocused in the aftermath of the blinding pleasure he has just experienced. He'd never understood why some people were so obsessed with sexual activities but now, having discovered just how good it felt, he didn't question it anymore. No, all he wanted, all he seemed to think about was the burning need to know more, touch more, feel more...

"Where are you going?" he asked with a displeased frown, when Ino slid off the bed.

"Oh? I'll be back in a sec, just need to wash this off," she gestured to the sticky mess on her chest.

"Leave it," Gaara commanded roughly and catching her arm, pulled her back onto the bed. Ino landed on the soft mattress with a startled squeak.

"Gaara-sama?" she blinked in confusion.

He didn't feel like explaining himself, so he took a hold of her chin and pressed his lips to hers. His other hand stroked the curve of her waist and hip.

Ino shook off the initial surprise at his forwardness and expertly took the charge of their kiss slanting her mouth over his to deepen their connection. It seemed that she has awakened Gaara's naughty side, because his hand went even lower to rub her tight buttocks, not that she really minded. Ino smirked inwardly and pushed him down, once again positioning herself on top.

The blonde vixen broke the kiss and smiling wickedly, pulled her bikini strings loose to take off the bottom piece. All the while, Gaara's eyes didn't leave her body, taking in her nude form with an unabashed fascination, which only served to stroke the woman's ego.

Ino reached down and slid her hand over his raging erection, marveling at how fast he has recovered. He possessed a Kage-level of stamina, indeed. Giving him a sultry smile, she aligned the tip of his shaft with her weeping entrance.

"Let's have fun, Gaa-ra-sa-ma," she said throatily and mounted him without much warning.

If he found the sensation of her breasts' warmth pleasurable then the hot wetness which was now gripping him tightly was positively mind-blowing. Gaara groaned drunkenly, his eyes rolling back at the feeling of the fleshy sheath pulsing around his sturdy length. He thought there could be nothing better except perhaps dying and going to heaven.

Ino proved him wrong by a simple roll of her hips, which made him clench his eyes and submit to the rapture. She leaned down and, bracing herself on his shoulders, started a wild pace as she rode his hard shaft. Gaara instinctively rocked his pelvis upwards, intensifying their mutual pleasure, even as his hands wandered to his second most favourite as of now place on a woman's body and tweaked her nipples.

"Oh my god!" Ino gasped out when he managed to hit the sensitive area inside her. She closed her eyes and focused only on the rapidly approaching, long awaited climax. Gaara's strong hand grasped her hip and pushed her down onto him at the same time as he thrusted up, rubbing her spot again as his groin brushed against her clit. The stimulation was too much for Ino's endurance and she was finally seized by the powerful orgasm, the clenching of her inner walls massaging Gaara's shaft with such force that he also let go, releasing his accumulated seed for the second time.

The kunoichi dropped down on top of him, resting against his hard, muscular planes as both of them caught their breaths, their minds perfectly blank for a longer while after experiencing such overwhelming rush together. Ino was the first one to gather her bearings as she raised herself on her elbows and gave Gaara a tired little smile.

"It was pretty great, huh?" she commented.

He regarded her beautiful features for a moment, still recomposing himself, then nodded.

"Yes. Thank you for assisting me, Ino-san," he answered a bit too formally, however he couldn't find any other words to express what he was feeling right now.

It seemed that she still understood his meaning, because she leaned down and pecked him sweetly on a cheek.

"No need for thanks, Gaara-sama. It was _entirely_ my pleasure," she purred.

* * *

Kankuro's evening progressed perfectly so far – Sakura has shown him a very cozy, posh place and he bought them both a couple of drinks. He was somewhat surprised when she revealed her preference for sake over the fruity cocktails most women were so fond of – however every encounter he's ever had with her pointed clearly that she wasn't most women and he found himself appreciating the fact more with every second passing in her presence. She was witty and expressed genuine interest in what he had to say, even when he talked about his passion of puppetry. She also managed to get him to dance with her and didn't react adversely when his hands wandered around for a bit. Kankuro was convinced she was exactly the type of a woman he was looking for – who knew how to have fun and didn't expect anything above that from him. That suited him the best.

Therefore, when he realized how much she's drunk already, he took her back to his quarters under the guise of being gentlemanly, while actually he was planning to be anything but. Barely the door closed after them, she unexpectedly assaulted him with a sloppy kiss. Taken aback by her taking the initiative, he reciprocated, the kiss getting more and more heated as he deepened it and let his hands slide down her back to grab her bottom boldly. She gasped and pressed herself into him eagerly. With her arms around his shoulders, he easily hoisted her up and she locked her legs behind his back.

Kissing madly, Kankuro used his vague memories of the suite's layout to get to bed and gently lay his catch on it. She tried to pull him down to join her, but he resisted, disengaging from her with a little bit of disappointment. However, he knew what would come next would definitely make it up.

He reached over to the bedside lamp and flicked it on, the soft yellow glow illuminating the flushed woman laying on the crimson sheets. "Kankuro-san?" she asked with uncertainty, not understanding what he was doing.

"Shhh," he shushed her with a quick kiss. "Let me undress you."

Sakura nodded in compliance and he slowly unzipped her red shirt all the way down, baring the fair skin on her cleavage, stomach and breasts, which were encased in a black lacy bra, to his hungry gaze. The sight of the sexy lingerie turned him on even more. He helped her take the shirt off, then carelessly threw it on the floor.

"Do the panties match the bra?" he asked, leaning down to skim kisses down her throat.

"See for yourself," she answered coyly.

"I will," he flashed her a grin.

His fingers deftly undid her pink skirt and chucked it away, then after caressing her stomach with light, teasing touches, they hooked in the waistband of her tight, black shorts and slowly pulled down, exposing the black underwear, which undoubtedly belonged to the same set as her brassiere.

"They match," he murmured.

Kankuro slowly peeled the shorts down her slim legs, admiring their tautness and graceful curves. Sakura's legs were unequivocally her best asset. When he reached her calves, he was half-tempted to leave her high boots on, but since he wouldn't have been able to take off her shorts otherwise, he had to pull them off too.

Finally, he raised himself on his knees to look at her delicious form, clad only in the seductive black lingerie, in its entirety. This time she didn't try to urge him on, content to let him take his sweet time in his appraisal.

"Gorgeous," he whispered, the raw desire in his eyes making her insides shudder in anticipation.

He trailed his hands up her legs, the fingertips barely grazing the skin. His ghosting touch traveled up her thighs, hips and stomach then rested at the center of her chest, between the cups of the bra to feel the anxious thumping of her heart. Tracing the edges of the undergarment on both sides and along the shoulder straps all the way to her back, when she arched off the bed to let him reach behind her, at last his fingers arrived at the clasp of the undergarment, which was then unhooked with a practiced ease, confirming that he wasn't a novice at this game.

His fingers retraced their path up to her delicate shoulders and pulled her bra straps down off them. As he kissed the bare skin there, his hands gently molded over her still covered breasts. Agonizingly slowly, he slid the unclasped brassiere off her body and drank in the sight of the two lovely mounds.

"So beautiful," he groaned and lowered himself to suckle on them tenderly.

Although his gentle ministrations were a nice change from how her usual sexual encounters went, Sakura grew sick with his slowness. She tugged on his hair to get his attention.

"Go faster," she implored, trying to keep her voice from sounding too harsh.

Kankuro must have seen some of her impatience flash in her eyes, because he smiled cockily, sitting up at her side.

"As you wish."

He didn't hesitate to pull off her panties, which he whiffed with satisfied smirk before throwing them somewhere on the ground with the rest of her clothes. Afterward, he spread her legs to the sides, but paused at the full view of her nether regions.

"So, it is natural..." he chuckled. "I've been wondering for a while."

Sakura knew that he referred to her pink hair colour, but decided to ignore that comment. "Mmm, touch me, Kankuro-san. I need you," she purred throatily.

"Of course," he replied.

If his skill in pleasing a woman was ever in question, the next moments made it null and void. His fingers rubbed her just right, applying softer and harder touches in turns and making her squirm and gasp. Her entrance, previously just slightly wet from his teasing, became slick and ready for the next step. Sakura braced herself for penetration but nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" she barely kept irritation out of her voice as she made eye-contact with the frustrating man.

Kankuro gave her a mischievous smile. "I just want to show you something. It'll be good, I promise," he explained and bent over to reach into his travelling bag laying by the bed. With a triumphant expression he took out a sealing scroll. Sakura observed curiously as he applied chakra to it and with a puff of smoke unsealed a cylindrical, black object. Her eyes widened in a surprised recognition.

"A dildo?" she raised an eyebrow, wondering why would he have something like that in his possession.

"You'll love this, I assure you, Sakura-chan," Kankuro chuckled, remembering the reactions of all the women he had tried this on, and turned the vibration on the low. He was more than eager to see this pink-haired vision of beauty writhing in his sheets and calling out his name in rapture. He licked his lips and gently pressed the tip of the dildo against her moist slit, sliding it back and forth to thicken the tension. Her soft moans were music to his ears.

When he slipped the toy into her needy sheath, Sakura gasped in pleasure and he immediately swooped down to claim her rosy lips again. She accepted the attention, his roaming tongue in her mouth, the hands pinching and rolling her stiff nipples while the dildo pulsed in and out of her, steadily bringing her to the brink...

Her eyes flew open in shock and she broke the kiss.

"Kankuro-san? What... your hands... how are you..." she fumbled for words, unsure how to form her question.

"Puppet master, remember?" he answered arrogantly and raised his hand to show her a glimmering blue chakra string attached to his pinky, which he bent and unbent in time with the dildo's strokes. With another flick he turned up the vibration on a higher setting and she threw her head back, arching her body closer to him in a spontaneous reaction to the stronger stimulation in her burning core.

Kankuro busied himself with ravishing her delectable throat and shoulders, leaving a big hickey where he sucked a bit too harshly on her pulse point, however she didn't object, too lost in the pleasure to care for a minute amount of pain. Sakura closed her eyes and undulated her hips in time with the pumping of the artificial shaft. She was spiraling closer and closer to the edge of the ecstasy, yet found herself wanting something different than the still very satisfying piece of plastic and rubber – something hot, fleshy and twitching, something which was instead burrowing in her thigh. Her hand sneaked down and wrapped around Kankuro's hardened member as best as it could with his clothes obstructing the access. He growled and bit her nipple, thrusting into her palm.

"You'll have it later, baby," he muttered and upped the pace of the dildo, making it piston violently into her quivering snatch.

"Ahh! Kaan-kuroo!" Sakura screamed out, clinging to him as she came loudly in his arms.

After her climax subsided, she let him go and laid down on the bed, flushed and heaving. Kankuro smirked and turned off the vibrations, but he didn't pull out the dildo, instead leaving it deep inside her, latent for now. He used the woman's distraction to quickly take off his clothes, tossing them carelessly on the floor in a heap, then, stark naked, he crawled on top of her to straddle her face.

"Suck me, baby," he ordered and prodded her lips insistently with the tip of his bulging manhood.

Her green, glazed eyes cleared and she reluctantly opened her lush lips, admitting him entrance to her mouth, which he eagerly sank into, jamming his shaft as far as it could go. He pumped in short strokes as she lathered the thick member in her saliva, diligently wiping from her pretty face any trace of annoyance at being forced to cater to him in such a manner. Even though he has just expertly brought her to a great release, she still severely disliked giving oral, especially if it wasn't by her own choice. If he wasn't Konoha's esteemed guest, she wouldn't have allowed him such liberties during intercourse with her, but regretfully he was and so she had to let him get away with this.

When he tore away from her with a muffled curse, she secretly felt relieved that it finally ended. However, her unease returned as Kankuro told her to get on her hands and knees. Confusedly, she followed his request, thinking that he wanted to take her from behind.

His hand slid between her thighs and fondled the damp folds, however didn't touch the dildo, leaving it stuck in place. Instead it wandered up and poked lightly her other small hole.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked nervously, dreading and at the same time getting increasingly pissed off at what she thought would be the answer. The possibility that he even entertained a thought of such depravity became higher when he chuckled and spread her buttocks, pressing his member in between them.

"You've never done it back there, huh, Sakura-san?" Kankuro asked knowingly. "Don't worry, you'll enjoy it," he assured her. That's what he planned for the whole evening, the glorious claiming of her sweet ass and he was more than ready to get his prize right now.

This confirmation of his intentions was what sealed Kankuro's fate. The tight leash Sakura was keeping on her emotions snapped like an overstrained piece of string and her killing intent spiked, catching the puppet master off guard as the enraged kunoichi bucked him off her and onto the bed. In the next moment he doubled over in pain as she viciously punched him in the gut. Before he came out of shock and regained his wits, he was securely tied to the bedpost, at the mercy of the pink-haired woman, who stood above him with a thunderous expression of a vengeful goddess.

"Wh-what?.. Why did you...?" Kankuro spluttered, struggling against the binds, but they were too strong for him to break out of them without seriously damaging himself. She didn't deign to respond, instead tying his ankles to the bedpost just next to his wrists, the man's attempts to kick her ineffectual against her inhuman strength. He was therefore put in a very humiliating position, with legs splayed wide open, exposing his crotch perversely.

"I'm serious, what are you doing?" Kankuro looked at her, clearly uncomfortable with this, but still thinking it was some sort of a bed play.

Sakura snorted and deftly pulled out the black dildo from her womanhood with a quiet hiss. Then she leaned down to his face, her furious green stare making him inadvertently gulp in sudden fear.

"You've never done it back there, huh? _Kan-ku-ro-san_," she threw his own words back in his face as she jabbed a finger against his backdoor, causing a pained grimace to emerge on his face, which turned white as a sheet when he realized what she intended to do. "Don't worry, you'll enjoy it. Maybe," she chuckled darkly.

Sakura backed off to have a better view of his lower half. She took the black dildo, which to the petrified man seemed too large all of a sudden and positioned it at his tender, untouched back entrance.

"No, Sakura-san, please, don't!" he protested frantically, squirming in his constraints but Sakura's cold fury demanded retribution for what he had made her do, what he had tried to do to her, against her will, without even asking for her permission.

The kunoichi smiled with a fake sweetness. "Now, Kankuro-san, I think it will be good for you to have a taste of your own... medicine," she smirked vindictively and _shoved_.

The ear-splitting scream of horror and subsequent wails of utter pain echoed of the walls of the suite as Sakura proceeded with dealing out the punishment to the arrogant man who dared to think that he would get away with trying to make her a tool for his selfish pleasure.

* * *

Shikamaru yawned as he headed, still half-asleep, for the Hokage tower to assist in the talks with the Suna delegation. His usual bored countenance hid the fact that he was suffering from sleep-deprivation, which was a result of his volatile affair. The lazy genius winced, remembering this night's events.

_At first, everything was going splendidly well. He showed up at Temari's suite with a bottle of expensive rice wine he splurged on to impress the volatile blonde. However, barely he took a step inside her temporary abode, she threw herself on him aggressively. Shikamaru had no choice but to comply with the woman's wishes and soon they ended up entangled on her bed, tearing off each other's clothes and passionately making out._

_Though he suspected Temari's sudden and a bit out of character aggression had something to do with his annoying teammate, Ino, he was too busy reciprocating his lover's attentions to dwell on it. This night the Suna kunoichi was truly insatiable and he found himself hard-pressed to keep up with her pace. However, he didn't exactly protest when she coaxed him to have their third and hopefully, final, round._

_Temari was on her hands and knees, letting him for once have control of their coupling as he pounded her from behind with nice, long strokes. He was so lost in pleasure, so detached from the reality, that the smooth, flawless skin of her back and the swishing blond hair, free from its customary ponytails caused in him a very acute recollection of his wild birthday party from just two days ago. Shikamaru was nearing completion and in his throes of passion he forgot where and who he exactly was with._

"_Ohh, Ino!" he called out, unthinking as he violently came into his lover._

_Next thing he knew, Temari immediately kicked him out of her suite, throwing his clothes and the untouched wine bottle on top of his naked form sprawled on the corridor's cold floor before she slammed the door close. The shocked ninja only then came to his senses and realized just what he had done wrong. With a groan, he quickly dressed and went home, however even there sleep eluded him till the wee hours of the morning, when he passed out, exhausted from useless thinking about his unfortunate slip of tongue and possible explanations for it._

"So troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled to himself.

He stopped short upon coming on a peculiar scene, his brow quirking questioningly. In the hallway just outside the conference room the members of the Suna delegation were standing along with their two female Konoha escorts, however the dynamic in the group seemed to have been shifted since the last time he had seen them all together. The Kazekage looked the same but the air around him changed – it was definitely somewhat lighter and more, dare he say, happy? Ino gave the man flirty looks, totally relaxed in his presence, unlike her earlier stiff self, while Temari glared at her, fuming. Before she caught the sight of him and turned her fearsome killing intent his way, Shikamaru sidled to Kankuro who was standing ramrod straight with his back practically glued to the wall.

The Konoha ninja decided to ignore the man's strange posture and greeted him with a nod.

"Are you alright?" he asked, more out of obligation than a real curiosity.

"What? Yes, I'm fine, of course!" Kankuro assured him a little too fast, however Shikamaru didn't bother to pry.

His bored eyes scanned around the place as his genius mind was working out what possibly might have happened to make everyone act so differently. When Kankuro visibly flinched and turned a pasty white colour under his face-paint, Shikamaru followed his gaze and found Sakura, smirking evilly in the puppet master's direction from the other side of the hallway.

Shikamaru sighed, wishing for a cigarette. He definitely didn't want to know what had happened between these two.

Thankfully, the Hokage finally showed up, accompanied by Shizune and his father, and so the second day of Konoha-Suna talks commenced at last, saving the young genius from thinking about illogical interpersonal relations.

It was too troublesome, really.

**The End of Chapter 3**

* * *

_**Pairings – Ino/Gaara, Sakura/Kankuro, Temari/Shikamaru.**_

_AN: After three months, here is chapter 3. Sorry for the wait and hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing (except Gaara sections. I swear, I hate this son of a bitch, he's decidedly the hardest character to write. It took me two weeks to finish up with him, no one else made me waste so much time on them.)_

_Firstly, I'd like to thank my dear reviewers for their encouragement. Your ideas were really helpful, thank you!_

_I know some of my readers counted on GaaSaku, however the pairings for this chapter were already decided when I was still writing chapter 2. I just really wanted to write Ino with Gaara and Sakura with Kankuro, it's pretty rare. Sorry for any confusion!_

_I was asked when this story happens in the Naruto timeline. It's some time after Asuma's death and before Pain's invasion. Naruto is away training and all the sexy Akatsuki's are dead, so they don't appear here (not that Sakura and Ino would want to touch them anyway)._

_The next chapter most probably would be the last one, but more information on this when I actually write it, though there's a high possibility of a continuation or a spin-off._

_See you next time :)_


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